Forever and a day
by Andre Corbin
Summary: Negi Springfield has vanished into thin air, no one knowing his whereabouts. Ander Corbain has been residing in the Mahora complex temporarily while straightening out business with the dean. Now he's been appointed English teacher of a certain class...
1. New Beginnings

"Wake up..." a teenage boy stirs in his sleep, sweating profusely. "I said, Wake. UP!" Without even opening an eye, the boy swats towards the voice, dislodging a snow white ocelot from its' perch. "Asshole." the feline mutters to herself, "See if I try to wake your ungrateful ass up for your first day again." Opening his eyes and blinking dumbly, the boy slowly sits upright. "Oh, hush Len." The ocelot slinks her way to his hand to nuzzle it "You called out her name again, y'know, Papa?" The boy smiled at that and patted her on the head. "I told you to stop calling me that. You're older than I am."

"I am now, but I wasn't always." Standing, he walks off towards the shower room. "I'm going to wash off... I stink. Could you change the sheets out for me?" Len nods and says a few words before shutting her eyes, a small breeze ruffling the sheets and changing them out. "Thanks. I never could master that trick." Even though it's physically impossible for Len to roll her eyes, she manages something close. "Yet you've managed to master nearly every language known to both mortal and mage, including intimate knowledge of respective dialects."

He smirks "Oh, and Len... could you take care of the... rat problem? Don't eat it... yet. Cage it up. I want to see how big it is when I'm done freshening." Len nods and hops off the bed as he steps fully into the bathroom and shuts the door. 'A rat, in here?' Sniffing around curiously, she noted a scent, but... it wasn't a rat. Ermine was more like it. He steps into the shower just in time to hear a squeal and a tussle start. Smirking to himself, his eyes close and he goes about washing off.

"Lemme go, ya big brute! Don't hold me like I'm some kind of rat, you'll damage my fur!" The ermine snarls out to Len and writhes furiously as she tosses him into a cage that suddenly appears on the bed "Behave and I won't injure you. Papa simply told me not to kill you, he spoke nothing of gravely maiming." Gulping, the ermine calms down and settles into a corner. After a few minutes, the boy walks out of the bathroom and casts an eye on the bed. 'Why does that thing look so familiar?' he thinks to himself as he walks over "Alright, eat him."

Suddenly the ermine squeaks out and starts flopping around like a dead fish "Noooo! I refuse to be eaten by the likes of THAT! Let me out of here this instant, I'm a mage's familiar! You wouldn't dare do that to me!" Shaking his head, just like Len, the boy walks over and kneels, looking into the cage "And why would a... mage's 'familiar' be sneaking around in /my/ room? Hmm? And, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you jailed about five years previous by a chap named Andre for theft?"

The ermine cocks his head "And just who might you be who would know such an intimate detail of my life?" Suddenly, the boy stands and lets out something of a disgusted snort "He's all yours Len. He was before your time, but he was found snooping around her underwear drawer and git turned him into the mages society for punishment. How he escaped, I'm not sure. I was sure that magical breaking and entering and theft had a 10 year sentence..."

"Now wait just a minute! You can't turn me into a rat steak for that beast!" The boy snarls and turns around, pushing his hand right through the cage and shattering it as he grabs the ermine by the neck, bringing him up face level and snarling into his face quite angrily "If you ever insult Len again, I will rip you limb from limb, familiar or not, Albert Chamomile. I will not tolerate this type of behavior in my own abode. You are lucky I haven't killed you already for snooping, do not tempt me." Chamo weakly acknowledges with a squeak and is thrown back down on the bed.

"For... for your information, boy, my master is Negi Springfield, son of the thousand master." At this, the boy snorts even more. "How ironic... the son of the pervert gets a pervert for a familiar. He must love you dearly, if you are so like his father. At least /he/ had /some/ taste in his choice of perversions, unlike you." Dropping the towel around his waist, he begins to dress when Chamo pipes in "He..hey!! Have some decency! I'm not gay, why would I want to look at your nas..." he's cut off by Len pouncing him and pressing down on his throat "I believe Papa told you to be quiet, stoat." He begins to mouth Ermine, but winds up unable to due to lack of air.

Putting on a pair of boxers and pants, the boy turns around "At this point, there are only two reasons you aren't dead or flying back to the magic association. Out of respect for kin of the thousand master, and I really don't want a bloody mess. I just got my sheets changed." Reaching out and affectionately stroking Len's head, he says "Truss him up like a duck at dinner and send him back to the headmaster of Mahora with a note attached as to what occurred. I'm sure dean Konoe will sort this out well. After all, he's your master's employer, ne, Chamomile?"

"B..before you do, at least tell me who you are." Turning to put his shirt on, the boy replies with "For what it's worth, you and everyone else can call me Corbain. That's good enough for you. Bye, pervert." And with that, Chamo pops out of sight. "Thanks, Len. I really didn't want to deal with that perverted little bastard." Len cocks her head "You said you caught him in her undergarment drawer... dare I ask?" "No." He replies simply, and she nods, leaving it alone "Well, today's the day you find out the decision from Konoe, might as well look your best." Turning and cocking his head "What do you mean? I think this outfit looks perfectly dashing on me..." Len bahs "Men of all species have no taste in fashion. Then again, you never did. Here... wear this outfit." Len hops off and walks over to the closet, pawing at a silk suit "The penguin suit? For this?" Len nods before starting to rub circles around Corbain's leg.

"Andre..." she begins, but is cut off "Papa will do, that name is dead. If you don't want to call me by your usual pet name, Ander or Corbain will be fine. That is my name now after all." Len nods, "Alright, papa. I was just going to let you know that you've got someone watching you through the window. A... tough looking girl with long red hair pulled into two sections." Ander smirks and stretches 'I think I'll just give her a show and see what happens.' Len rolls her eyes and turns around as Ander goes to step out of his pants.

"Well, it seems your plan worked. She turned around." Ander smirked and quickly walked to the window, propping his chin on his palm, elbow on the sill and waiting for her to... "Aaah!" she squeaks in embarrassment, tumbling backwards as she suddenly notices the face she was watching is now less than a foot in front of hers and watching her back. It's faint, but Ander could have sworn he heard Chamo shout something along the lines of 'That's the one, Ane-san!!'. Shaking his head, he watches her stumble over herself running away in embarrassment, among other things. "Do you think she thought I was cute, or is simply embarrassed? Or, something else?" he asks Len, to whom replies "Probably realized at the same time she's late for class, which started ten minutes ago. " Ander nods his agreement and goes back to getting dressed.

* * *

"Asuna-san, where have you been!? We left the dorm rooms at the same time..." Konoka looks slightly disappointed as she scolds her room mate "Chamo got attacked, so I was trying to help him out. Strange thing was, it's by some girly British kid that's been staying on campus for the last couple of weeks. The one who's been talking to your grandfather a lot." Konoka cocks her head "Ander? Couldn't be... he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's probably the most gentle person I've seen next to... well, next to Negi." Asuna droops a little at the mention of the name. "Well, I doubt Chamo would lie, despite his ability to stretch a story. He was roughhoused at least a little. Chamo seems to think he's a mage, but his aura isn't reading like a mage should. He isn't really sure."

Konoka blinks and cocks her head "Well, that would explain why grandfather has been so relaxed about having a boy here..." Takamichi walks into the class "Morning, ladies." he nods in the two talking girl's direction "Asuna-kun, Konoe-san." Asuna blushes and quickly starts to give Takamichi a more formal greeting before she's cut off by Ayaka. "Good morning Takahata-sensei" she announces rather loudly, causing the class to(minus Evangeline) chant the same in unison. Asuna starts to fume as Takamichi pats her on the head "It's good to see you too, now take your seat." Asuna beams and happily takes her seat, poking her tongue out at Ayaka and getting a silent 'Monkey-san' in response.

Asuna growls and begins to respond as Takamichi once more intervenes "This morning, there stands a good chance that once again, I'll be replaced temporarily as your teacher. With the absence and possible terminal leave of Negi-sensei, the dean has been considering replacing him with another student teacher in training. However, due to the fact that I'm not entirely sure, as is no one else on the staff, including the dean himself, I won't reveal the student teacher's identity." A commotion breaks out in the class as Shizuna walks in "Takamichi, the headmaster is requesting your company. I'll keep an eye on the class." Takamichi nods and pats Shizuna on the shoulder "Good to see you this morning." Shizuna nods as Takamichi walks on past. "Oh, and Asuna-kun, keep your temper in check. Alright? If you're good, I might consider buying you a juice or something."

The class erupts in a fit of giggles as Asuna simply cowers in embarrassment. "Well, it seems Takamichi's lecture notes are..." Shizuna picks up right where he was going to start, much to class dismay.

* * *

"Headmaster, you summoned me?" Takamichi steps into the office, noting a younger boy standing there, long, black hair tied back into a ponytail. "Ho ho ho, yes, yes, welcome Takahata-sensei. I called you here to introduce you once more to Ander-kun. As I've finally decided, he will be taking the place that Negi has left vacant for us." Takamichi blinks "Are you sure about this, headmaster? I mean, there's no official report on wether..." Konoe-sama raises his hand for Takamichi to fall silent "I'm positive on my decision, and I'm certain, based upon talks I've had with my granddaughter, that I'm doing the right thing. That class needs someone similar to Negi-kun teaching them again to get their spirits back up. They all love and loved him so dearly."

Takamichi nods a little and turns "Well, Ander-sensei, as you no doubt have realized, I'm Takamichi T. Takahata, resident teacher of whatever is required." he chuckles at his own introduction, getting a smile out of Ander. "And I'm Ander Corbain, resident language buff and new English teacher, so it seems. It's nice to finally meet the legend." Ander bows low and rights himself to find Takamichi confused "Legend?" The headmaster laughs softly "Ho ho ho, didn't I inform you previously, Takamichi? Ander here is a mage, though, in this form he's in now, not a very powerful one. You see..."

Ander turns and shakes his head "Headmaster, please. If you please, I'd prefer to keep my past to myself and you alone. Is that alright?" The headmaster nods and smiles "Yes, yes, but, if you ever wish me to let him know, I will." Nodding and offering a smile of his own, Ander turns and extends his hand "Well, if I may be so bold as to call you it now, Takahata-sensei, would you be able to show me to my class? That is, if I'm to start today." Both the dean and Takamichi nod. "Oh, and Ander, as much as I enjoy Len's company, and I know the student's would as well, she needs to stay out of the class." Len and Ander nod "I understand." they both speak in unison, causing the old mage to chuckle "Ho ho ho, well, then, since it's settled, Takahata-sensei, could you show him to the class?" Nodding and offering a bow to the headmaster, Takamichi replies "It would be my pleasure. Right this way, then."

"So... when did you graduate your magic class, Ander?" Not bothering to look at him, Ander replies non-chalantly "1988." Raising his eyebrow, Takamichi replies "So that would make you..." "Older than I look." Ander replies. "Another day, please, sir. This one is proving to be quite a good day and explaining it would only lead to my brooding and your being burdened with my history." Takamichi nods and says "Oh, and be careful when you walk in the door. Though I know Shizuna-sensei, the resident nurse, is watching the class... I've no doubt that the students have setup a trap near the entry."

* * *

Ander nods and grins, opening the door and stepping in. Just as he walks into the classroom, they notice that the twins(Fuuka and Fumika) have Shizuna in some sort of group hug. It's just a moment too late to realize that it was merely a distraction to keep her from noticing the trap. A chalky eraser smacks him in the side of the head. The class busts into a giggle fit as Ander simply shakes his head "Teenage girls... walking piles of hormonally induced giggling. Thank god I was never one." Takamichi smirks as he picks up the fact that Ander spoke that in a language that only he would know. Well, to his knowledge.

"Nice one, nice one, I'll give you all credit for that. Whoever was the mastermind behind that little trick deserves some bonus points on the next test. So, anyone care to fess up to it?" Asuna glowers at the boy "It's you!" she announces with a little bit of accusation. "Me?" Ander says sarcastically, giving the impression that that's the first time they ever met "If I'm not mistaken, we've never met before. My name is Ander Corbain, your new English teacher. If I may be so bold as to ask your name... we can do away with calling each other you and actually use our proper names." The girls start to giggle, causing Asuna to grumble and sit down.

"Her name is Asuna, Ander-sensei. Kagurazaka Asuna." Ayaka stands and walks over, bowing a little "I'm the class representative and the one you'll more than likely be dealing with the most. It's a pleasure." Asuna growls "Hey, bimbo, lay off. You like young boys, not teenagers." Ayaka gasps and turns, aiming and pegging Asuna in the head with the eraser that Ander had just happened to set on the desk. "You stupid broad, I'll rip your lungs out!" Asuna jumps up and goes to throttle Ayaka as Takamichi reaches over and picks the two up like squabbling kittens "Alright you two, calm down."

Asuna wilts for probably the tenth time in one day and nods, Ayaka getting a triumphant glee. "Yukihiro-kun, you'll be seeing me after class today for detention." Asuna gets the triumphant glee then. "You too, Asuna-kun." A few of the girls snicker as they both frown and are let back down to return to their seats. "Are they normally this rowdy?" Ander asks once more in the common language of the magical world, causing Takamichi to nod "This is a suppressed day, they've been worse. Be thankful." Grimacing at the thought of this group being any more rambunctious, Takamichi announces suddenly "Well, then, I'll be on my way. You girls be good and treat him better than the first day you met Negi-sensei."

* * *

The class seems to grow silent at that, a little bit of a sniffle heard near Nodoka's seat. Takamichi and Shizuna walk out of the room and shut the door, leaving the crickets to chirp. Gulping, Ander stands at the desk and sets his stuff "Well, then, let's have a little Q&A session to get to help me get to know you, and you get to know me. Each girl gets to ask one question after they give a little information about themselves, if they wish to. If nothing else, give me your name. I'm going to be making a little book of information. Let's start with seat number 1." He looks towards Asakura, who chuckles.

"Actually, teach', I'm number 3. Seat number one belongs to Sayo Aisaka. She won't be here, though you should keep her on the roll. As far as myself, Kazumi Asakura, local school newspaper spearhead. Keep your secrets safe, or I'll have the world knowing." She winked, causing Ander to shake his head and rub his forehead lightly "I see. I suppose that means I'll have to keep an eye or two on you. Don't do anything too bad, though, because that means I'll be watching you too." He offered a smile, causing her to grin in response. "It seems I now get to ask you a question if I wish." Ander nodded "Alright. The name 'Ander' is of Swedish origin, but you speak with a southern Japanese dialect. So, which is it. Swedish, or something else."

He smiled at that "Very observant. But, to that, I can only say that you're observances are correct. I apologize. However, for what it is worth, I am British. I'm from the north eastern portion of Britain." Asakura pouts, but nods, behaving for the time being. "Let's see... So, Asakura was it?" He scribbles it down and looks to Kaede. "Alright, how about you next?" "Nagase Kaede. Baka blue of the resident Baka rangers de-gozaru." And, once more, Ander can't help but laugh in response "Team of idiot's..." he says softly in English "Alright, then. Would you be kind enough to tell me who the other... four or five are, depending on which series you go from?" Kaede smiles and says simply "Ku Fei..." Ku raises her hand and waves "Yellow!" she squeaks out happily, "Ayase Yue..." Yue waves simply and says "Black." "Sasaki Makie." Makie pipes in "Pink." "And without further ado, de-gozaru," She points at the redhead who accosted him at the beginning of the class "Kagurazaka Asuna, our infamous leader de-gozaru."

"I'll be sure to remember that. Thanks for the information." Asuna flips him off behind his back as he turns to look at something that catches his eye. "Oh, and Kagurazaka-san, I'd not do that if I were you. Some people might take it differently than what you mean. Student teacher relations are strictly forbidden." If Asuna had laser eyes, Ander would be burned to a crisp. Ayaka has a hard time stopping laughing until Asuna reminds her that she was always after Negi. Ander continues his little Q&A with the rest of the class bit by bit, finally coming to a stop as he notices Evangeline. Studying her carefully, he sends out a mental message to her 'Doll master, right?' Eva grins wide 'It's good to know that the dean didn't stick a dead end teacher in here. You know well, but how?' 'It matters not, I assume you'll behave yourself?' 'Never... but, unless you provoke me, we're on even terms.' Ander nods a little and skips her "I've already spoken to Evangeline-dono prior to the course, so we've already become acquainted."

Looking down at the roll of 29 students, he can't help but wonder what this job might entail. Just out in the hall, though, Takahata speaks to Shizuna and Akashi.

* * *

"Have you any idea who this 'Ander' is?" They both shake their heads "He reminds me of the head of the Eurasia magical investigations department that was removed several months ago. Mysterious circumstances, no one seems to really know why that man vanished. Maybe this kid is kin?" Takahata shakes his head "No, I remember that man. Good man, but his wife was barren. Never met him in person, but heard a great deal of his work. They had no children." Shizuna nods a little "You said he graduated in 88... Akashi, could you cross-check graduation records and see if Corbin and Corbain could be the same person. If so, we need to figure out why the department of magical investigations are here and under cover."

* * *

"So, Ander-sensei, why don't you tell us about yourself!" Makie chirps quickly, breaking the silence that formed "Well, I suppose me giving a full introduction won't really hurt." Stretching and walking around to the other side of the desk, Ander hops up on it with his rump and takes a seat "I'm an old friend of the Dean's. I've known him for many years... well, honestly, he's known me since I was tiny. I came to Japan on business and decided to stop in to see how he was doing. Business got holed up and I wound up staying here longer than I thought I might be. In the meantime, speaking as I am quite versed in languages, the Dean asked me to step in as your teacher. He thought it might be good to have a fresher face than Takahata-san's." Asuna snorted, but Ander ignored it for the most part. "I have a master's degree in close to seventy different languages..." Crickets could be heard across the classroom. Ander sweatdropped a little and forced a laugh "It's called a joke... seriously, I'm 15. Though, I do have a master's in Japanese, English, French, German, Chinese;Mandarin specifically, as well as Latin and Greek. My main job is translation work for an international law enforcement agency."

A slight 'ooo' sound waves across the classroom as Asuna says under her breath "Full of shit..." Ander looks towards her "What was that, Kagurazaka-san? If you have something to say, go ahead and let the entire class know." Asuna grumbles 'I said you're full of it. No one is that smart at 15..." Smiling, Ander gets a piece of chalk and begins writing on the board. Starting at the top left and working his way across, he begins writing out the course syllabus in English. Then he switches to Japanese, then back to French, then German, then Chinese and Latin, then Greek, and proceeds to also go into about 10 other languages "Alright, then, Miss Kagurazaka. Your homework for tonight is to find the grammatical error I purposefully put somewhere inside this conglomeration of about seventeen different languages. While I admit this is an English class, I'd like you to prove to me that I'm lying, if you can. If you wish, I can provide you a list of the languages I wrote this out in, as well as a list of the specific regions to which they are prominent and the dialect I used. While I don't doubt your intelligence, I doubt your enthusiasm. If you wish to make an ass out of me, feel free. Til then, please, don't doubt my credentials."

Asuna growls and begins to say something, but is cut off by Ku Fei. "He smart... Chinese be flawless." Ku smiles in his direction and quips out a few lines in Chinese, to which he replies and bows low. "It is good to see someone who has a very good take on three languages. You may make a linguist one day, Ku Fei-dono." Ku blushes at the compliment and nods. "However, you forget, I be Baka ranger. Not smart, indeed." Shrugging, Ander says rather simply "As you say, but unless you wish to join Kagurazaka-san in accusing me of lying, you're smart." Ku rubs at the back of her head and nods "You not be lying." Chachamaru says in a rather monotone voice "His French and German, as well as his Japanese and Latin are flawless. I do not have an Greek databases installed in me." Ayaka says "His English is good too." She notices the way he wrote the grammar wrong in the English section, but doesn't say anything. However, a wink from her gets a nod from him. "And so is his Spanish... you've been to Puerto Rico?" Mana asks simply, and he shakes his head "No, but I had a tutor who lived there for many years."

'This is ridiculous' Chisame thinks to herself as she watches the man and has actually already translated every language he has up there with her computer 'It's all flawless. No one is that perfect... Not even Negi was that perfect.'

Evangeline's grin slips wide as she says "Don't be too full of yourself just yet. Keep this up and you'll turn off the class. A teacher who is full of himself is not a teacher, but merely someone who lectures." Ander nods "Very well spoken, Evangeline-dono. It seems that I have been just a bit too earnest in some ways. But, I was asked." He grins and says "What, then, if I may ask, in your opinion, does make a good teacher?" Evangeline simply leers his direction, her grin still there. "Ah, no suggestions? Anyone? Anyone have a suggestion as to how I might better teach the class, that way I know in advance?" Suddenly, Fumika pipes up "More field trips!" The class starts laughing. "Ah, I see... well, that's something I'll have to look into. Anything else?" Haruna pipes in "How about more trips to Library Island?" Nodoka and Yue perk up at the sound of that, Yue nodding vigorously and Nodoka seeming like she wants to. "Well, that's certainly something I can do. Reading, after all, is the staple of education... Actually, that gives me an idea. Everyone, take out pen and paper. I'm going to do a little comprehension pop quiz on your grasp of English."

A groan arises from the class "Oh, don't worry. It's not going to be too difficult. I'm going to say something in English, and I wish you to write it down as I say it. Spelling is what I'll be going after. And, to take Haruna-san's request and slightly alter it, how about I read something to you all in English. Does anyone have any books on them that aren't written in English already?" Nodoka starts to raise her hand, but shies away from it. Yue smiles and says "Nodoka... go ahead. He won't bite. After all, didn't you at least learn that much from Negi-sensei." Nodoka droops and nods, before reaching into her satchel and pulling out a copy of Tolkien. "S...sensei, here is something if you wish. It... It.. is by Tolkien." Smiling, Ander walks up towards the girl, who visibly shrinks in her seat. Blinking at the reaction, Ander stops where he is "What seems to be the problem, Miyazaka-san?" Haruna walks to him and whispers in his ear "She has androphobia... and quite a large case of it. The only person to really break through that fear was our last teacher, Negi Springfield."

Ander nods a little and thinks, before reaching up and letting his hair fall down. Shaking his hair and letting it settle in a natural shape, Haruna suddenly gets a nosebleed. "Am I really all that bad now, Miyazaki-san?" Nodoka blushes darkly as she realizes just how feminine he really looks at this point. The entire class right now, with only a few exceptions, are blushing at this. "N.n...n..no, y..y..you're... okay..." Nodoka quickly shoves the Tolkien book towards him, nearly clipping his nose in the process. Ducking back just in time, Ander smiles and takes the book gently from her hand, making sure not to, in any way, graze her hand "Thank you for the book, Miyazaki-san. It's nice to see someone has good taste."

_In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort._

Ander begins reading in English as the class lets out a slightly annoyed sound. Well, all of the class except Nodoka, Yue and Haruna. "Well, class? What are you waiting for. Start writing. I'll repeat it again for you slowly. Write down as much as you can. When I switch to speaking Japanese, try to write down what it would be in English."

Class ends with little more interruptions. "Alright girls, turn in your papers up here. Make sure to have your names on it." The class files up and turns in their papers, saying their goodbyes to Ander as they head out. The last ones in the class are the Library Trio, Ayaka and Asuna. "A..Ander-sensei?" Nodoka squeaks out in a very mousy tone "Yes, Miyazaki-san?" he says in a soft voice, intentionally trying to be as unimposing as possible "I really enjoy.. enjoyed today's lesson a lot!" And with that, she bolts out the door. Both Yue and Haruna blink and shake their heads "Well, you certainly are a charmer..." Haruna remarks, causing Ander to cock his head "Pardon?" "She hasn't spoken hardly two words to Takahata-sensei unless required to during the whole time Negi-sensei has been gone, yet you've managed to get at least three sentences out of her today alone." Ander shrugs a little "I wouldn't know. Perhaps it was just luck with the book thing." Yue nods a little "Therein lies a good chance. Haruna? Would you mind checking on Nodoka? I have a feeling she's already ran to the library." Haruna nods "As did I, I'll meet you there." Yue nods and Haruna follows non-chalantly after Nodoka.

"Well, Asuna? Is there any reason you're still hanging around?" Ayaka questions, causing her to growl "I simply need to talk to the teacher? What about yourself? Isn't he a bit too old for your tastes?" Ayaka acks and goes to retort as Ander places his face right between the two "Aren't you two judging me a little too quickly?" Both girls blush darkly and turn around, not wanting to face the other. "Heh heh..." Asuna glares at Yue "What are you snickering at?" Yue holds up a drink pouch "Cheers to things that never change. Cheers to those that do. And even amidst all of that, here are you two." Asuna snorts and sticks her face right up to Ander's "I'm watching you jerk... I know there's something fishy with you. I have a gut feeling." Ander blinks and looks down. "Well, as you're quite fit and don't seem to have a gut, that feeling must be quite small, right? Ignore it. I'm not nearly as bad as you seem to think I am."

Asuna blushes lightly at the compliment and turns around, leaving. Ayaka cocks her head "Well, you got her to leave easily enough. Would you like a tour of the facilities, Ander-sensei?" He shakes his head "No thanks, Ayaka-san. I was actually thinking about checking the library out after I report to the Headmaster and let him know how class went." Ayaka nods and turns to head out "Well, Sensei, it was nice to make your acquaintance. Oh, and nice touch with the Syllabus thing. I noticed how you switched around the words and letters in the English part. Still, so many languages..." Ayaka walks out, leaving only he and Yue standing there. "Was there something else you needed, Yue-san?" She shakes her head "Not really, but Haruna and I... and Nodoka, though she'll never bring herself to admit it, if you'd like a tour of the library, since you seemed interested. If you'd like to incorporate more books into your lesson plans, we'd be more than willing to help, library helpers and all." Ander nods and smiles "I'd like that quite a lot, actually. Would you care to accompany me to the Dean's office in the meantime? It shouldn't take too long to make the report, then you can show me the way." Yue nods and they head out.

* * *

"Ho ho ho.. you're quite good at this game I see, Len-chan." Len nods towards the dean, pushing a Shogi piece with her claw "Ander taught me this game a few months back. We play it often when he's bored." The dean nods as a knock resounds through the room. Len curls up and pretends to be normal when the dean says simply "Enter." Ander walks through the door, Yue trailing behind him. "Ah, Ander-kun, Ayase-san, welcome welcome. I assume you're here to give your report of the first day?" Ander nods "And the lass?" Ander goes to speak, but Yue responds "I was going to show him to the library after he was done here. He was planning on incorporating books into his lessons, at least a little." The dean nods. "Sounds good... literature is always a good place to pick up. Can't go wrong there. Ho ho ho.. now, tell me, how was your first day."

Ander recounts the events, only leaving out his mental quips with Evangeline and her comments. "Ho ho ho, sounds like you got off to a good start. Ayase-san, do you agree with his statements, that he's recounting things exactly as they happened?" Yue nods, still sipping on her drink idly "Well, then, in that case, Ander-sensei, you're officially the English teacher here now. Welcome aboard." The Dean reaches out to shake his hand, which Ander grasps firmly and gives a smile "Thank you. I won't disappoint." Grinning widely and looking almost senile "How would you like to go on an Omiai with my daughter?" Looking slightly sheepish for a change, Ander shakes his head "While I would be more than happy to buy her lunch sometime and/or get to know her better, I must humbly reject that request. If only for my last relationship." Dean Konoe nods and smiles "I knew your answer, but I still had to ask. Alright, well, I've nothing further. So, if you wish, you may take your leave. Oh, and I haven't had a good game of Shogi in a while... I found an excellent partner while you were teaching."

Looking towards Len, Ander gives her a look of 'You?' Len replies to him mentally 'Yes, he is quite fun to play with. Better than you.' Ander chuckles "Well, Dean, I'll leave you to get back to your game if the opponent decides to show themselves again. Shall we, Ayase-san?" Yue eyes Len and can't help but interject something about having a 'Familiar' sense about her. The two of them turn and walk out, shutting the door and leaving Len and the dean to their game.

* * *

"So..." says Yue after taking a sip of her drink "How long has that white ocelot been your familiar?" Ander coughs and nearly spews out a mouth full of his juice as he turns to look at Yue with a look of confusion. "Heh heh, so I was right. I didn't think the dean would put someone who wasn't mage in charge of this class. So, tell me... who are you really?" Grumbling and mentally making a note to quiz the dean as to why he didn't inform him... "No, actually. The question is, before I report you to the magic association and have your memory wiped, is who are you?"

"Ayase Yue, partner of Negi Springfield." She digs into her pocket and pulls out her pactio card, flashing it his direction before putting it back in her pocket. Looking even more annoyed than before, Ander nods and seems only a little ticked off "I suppose I should have seen that coming. But... I wonder why I wasn't told about you." Yue shrugs "I suppose there's a reason you weren't told about us, but whatever it was, it's moot now." "Us?" Ander inquires as Yue ducks into a side hallway that leads to the library faster. "Yes, us. All of Negi's partners."

Ander snorts once more, once again managing to barely catch himself from spewing his mouthful of drink. "Exactly how many... " Yue begins counting on her hand and says "Doesn't matter. Why would I wish to tell that to someone who wants to have my memory wiped." Looking slightly embarrassed, Ander says "I apologize for the rash remark, but anyone who knows about magic who isn't somehow directly involved with a mage must have their memory wiped. That is the law... you should know that if you are his partner." Yue nods and shrugs "There's been many instances in which even Gandolfini himself has looked to the side. I suggest you start by being less of a rule pusher before you continue trying to teach the class. You'll find out soon that if you try to keep too many rules in effect, the students will break you faster than you could imagine." Sip sip...

Looking at the girl with a look of absolute wonder, Ander says "And give me one reason why I shouldn't enforce the rules that have been set out by the high council." Yue doesn't even look at him before saying "Because there are many things that are going on above your head, and if Takahata-sensei hasn't done anything, you certainly have no right to threaten anyone in my class." Defeat. That is exactly what slides across the new teachers face as the logic is presented in front of him. "Then that means I'll be speaking to Takamichi next I see him. Until then... I'll remain quiet about the whole ordeal. You are right, though, on one thing. I have no idea what I've gotten my nose into, so it seems.

END OF CHAPTER 1

* * *

So, people? What do you think? It's the beginning of a long series I have planned out, I've been thinking on it for quite some time. Please review this and give me as many critiques as you can, because I'm anxious to hear opinions and ideas for the plot. As it stands right now, I won't be adding too many OC's to the plot because this isn't going to be too far-stretched from canon as I can maintain. I have a friend of mine beta-reading this series, so he usually manages to catch all of the mistakes. If you find any, by all means, let me know. 


	2. Panic and distrust

"So… how much longer til we get to the library?" Ander's drink cup hits the rim of a trashcan and bounces in, leaving just a drop of juice on the rim of it. Glancing at the can, then back towards her new teacher, Yue replies with just a hint of annoyance in her voice "Whining already? Out of shape, or simply impatient?" Ander laughs at that, crossing his arms "Come now? Me, out of shape? Hardly, I'm simply asking. I've never been to the library here before and had no idea it was this far off. At this rate, it's going to be long past dark when you and the other girls get back to the dorms… what about the curfew?"

"Oh, that's not a problem. We have some leeway with that. Speaking we help clean up the library, none of the teachers and patrol haggle us about anything. Besides, what are we going to do? Molest the books while no one is around?" Laughing once more at one of the remarks, Ander nods "I can see your point." Though… he can imagine Nodoka hugging a book with a little bit of a happy squeal. She seemed the type, from what little he knew of her. A gaggle of girls come walking past Yue and Ander, tossing the strange-looking couple a few looks and giggling amongst themselves. Yue turns and raises a fist at them "Keep your thoughts to yourself, he's the new teacher!" But, unfortunately for her, that just gets another wave of "Oooooo", causing her to blush just a little. "I swear, nothing but a bunch of hormonal biddies."

He keeps his opinions to himself, but can't help agreeing on that point, chuckling softly. "You said you are Springfield's' partner… but, something that confuses me is the fact that, if memory serves, he's only 11. You're 15, are you not?" Yue rubs at the back of her head as she tries to figure out an explanation for that. "Well, he's… much older in spirit than he is in body. There's no real relationship beyond a pactio of need, but, yes… I'm 15 and he should be 11 now." Before Ander could ask as to why a 10 year old would need to form so many pactio's, Yue announces as she steps out of the little passage way and pushes open a door. "We're here." A tiny voice sounds on the other side of the door "W…w…we're? What are you talking about, Yue-Yue?" Haruna chirps in with a bit of a teasing voice "She's talking about being here, along with our new teacher, Ander-sensei. We invited him here t… H..hey! Come back here, damnit! Don't run away… aw, crap. Now look what you did, Yue!"

Yue sighs and shakes her head "Look what /I/ did? It was no one's fault. You can blame neither me, nor Ander." Haruna takes a deep breath before letting out silent growl and trotting after Nodoka "Honya, come back already! He doesn't bite! At least… I don't think he does!" Ander stays back, however, trying to be as intimidating as possible. Of course, how he's intimidating in the first place he can't possibly imagine, but to someone who is scared of the male sex, he would have no idea. "Well… Yue starts up "I might as well get you started on the official tour of Library Island." Ander nods, though unable to help but feel a little bad for Nodoka in the process. "Well… actually, Yue, if it's alright with you, I'd like to help and try to get Nodoka to calm down." Yue blinks and looks at him confused "Why? What's it to you if she is or isn't calm?"

"She's my student; I'm her teacher, as of today. If nothing else, it's my responsibility. And even if it wasn't… I feel bad for her being so scared of me. I apparently haven't done my job well enough if a student is scared of me, androphobia or otherwise." A soft smile comes across Yue's face as she nods. Opening a little panel in the side of the librarian's booth, she pushes a button and flicks on the little television that's there. "Closed circuit camera's. I had our tech squad install them for various reasons… this being one of them." Yue snickers to herself as she examines them. "She's on the third floor loft, Haruna." Yue speaks into a little microphone that she pulls out of the cubby. Haruna replies over it "Got it, I'll be there shortly." "Negative. Hold out and let her stay there for a bit…" "Huh? Why?" "Because Ander-sensei wishes to speak to her in person. Just… let him try. It can't hurt, and if he can at least manage to get her to calm down around him, this might not happen again." A snort can be heard through the microphone before a "Hai hai… he's got one shot, then I'm dragging her goofy ass back to the dorm rooms and having her go to bed early."

"She's all yours, Ander-sensei. I'll give you a map as a bit of a test from myself too. I'll mark where she is. She'll be there." And, as she said, she takes out a map and hands it to him, marking a little purple x on one of the levels. "This is her." A blue x near the front. "This is me, and…" she marks a green devil face with horns and glasses "This is Haruna… she'll be around there somewhere, stalking Nodoka and you. While she is nice, she doesn't trust many people around Nodoka. She's very protective of her."

Ander nods and turns to head out before… "Do you think I should let my hair down?" Yue thinks about it and blushes "No… if you go to her as anything other than yourself and get her to relax with that form, she won't be any better off if she were to see you normally." Nodding, Ander heads out. The map isn't that hard to follow. Pretty straight-forward, even if it's so damned large.

Asuna has long since gotten back to the dorms and has been pacing non stop. "Bastard… I aught to kick his haughty ass for embarrassing me like that in front of everyone! That's it, it's decided! I'm going to kill him!" Asuna turns to stomp out the door as Setsuna reaches over and hooks a finger in the back of her collar "Ojou-sama wouldn't like the blood from that event too much, so I'm going to have to humbly request that you don't do such a hasty thing." Konoka pipes up from the kitchen "Konoka! It's Konoka, not Ojou-sama!" Setsuna blushes lightly "My apologies Ojo… er, Kono-chan, but it's habitual. Forgive me."

* * *

Asuna growls and snaps herself away from the finger, giving Setsuna a look of death. "Apology accepted" Konoka calls from the kitchen, poking her head around the corner "And Asuna, Set-chan is right, that would be too much blood. Give him a few days, I'm quite certain that you're just over-reacting. He's quite a nice person. If I didn't like Secchan here, I'm quite sure that I would have accepted Grandfather's Omiai with him." Setsuna blushes darkly as Konoka pokes her tongue out. "But… I… I mean that… what I'm trying to say is… Ojou-sama… w… w..." Setsuna truly can't get out any words as Konoka walks over and gives her a teasing smooch on the nose "Calm down, silly. I'm just joking. I would never choose someone from one of Grandfather's silly Omiai's over you" 

Setsuna's blush, though, darkens considerably as she slinks into a corner and begins to twiddle her fingers. Too much Kono-chan at once for her. Konoka can't stop giggling as she watches this, going over and offering a hug. "Asuna smiles to herself before forcing a growl and stalking off to the bedroom. Chamo looks up and says "Aww, and here I thought you were going to kick his ass! You should after what he did to me!" Asuna shakes her head "They're right, getting mad won't so..l… Chamo, I'm going to kick YOUR ass!" Asuna walks over and starts trying to catch a writhing Chamo as she realizes he's perched in her underwear drawer. "Animal cruelty, animal cruelty!" Chamo squeals at the top of his lungs as she finally peels him out of it and shuts it, locking it with a padlock.

"Pervert… Nothing but a pathetic pervert. Then again, you take after your master…" Grumbling, Asuna looks to her English folder "Might as well do my homework… Negi always griped at me for not doing it. It's the least I can do." Chamo slinks up to the desk and curls up on the top "You miss him still, don't you?" Reaching up, Asuna wipes a tear from her right eye "I suppose. Stupid brat… despite what everyone thinks, I thought of him as a brother, nothing more. Why'd he have to go and pull what he did." Chamo walks up and jumps up to her shoulder "I don't think he did anything to purposefully hurt you. He wasn't like that. If he left without saying anything, then he had a good reason." Asuna takes Chamo and flings him onto her bed "Then why can't I contact him with my pactio card! Why won't it work!" she's almost in tears as Chamo sighs and looks away "Can't say, kid. I truly can't say. All I know is he isn't dead. As to why the pactio cards won't work, I don't know. I've never seen an instance of that before."

"I can't even activate it! It's almost as if the card's dead! How am I supposed to protect any of my friends if I can't even use this stupid card!?" Chamo looks at her before saying "Calm down kid. Nothing's going to happen. This school is locked up tighter than any other part of the mundane world. This IS the Mahora academy we're talking about. Think of your precious Takahata-sensei. Would he allow anything to happen to your friends?" Asuna blushes softly and shakes her head "I suppose not." Chamo flops onto his rump and pulls out a pack of Ermine light 120's. "Now, how about you get started on that English homework of yours. Aniki always tried to get you to do better in class. It's about time you did, just to show him up."

* * *

**_"Maya…" a man walks up to a dark skinned girl who holds a large rifle in one arm. "Yes? What is it?" she turns and responds to him, looking completely deadpan, despite the obvious hint of affection in her voice. "Konoemon has summoned us. He wants us to accompany Col. Corbin and his squadron on their reconnaissance mission into the lair of the Lycans. Ala Rubra won't be here for some time. They got held up by some no-name vampire clan down in the south." The woman nods and turns, looking out over the battlefield. Corpses littler it from one end of the field to the next, of all various species. The main species littering the field are Human. Second would be the dozens upon dozens of corpses of the Lycanthrope tribe that had been hunting the humans for some time. "So… let us go then, if you wish. I'll follow you to hell and back." The man smiles and walks up to the woman, pulling her into a deep kiss before whispering "I know, Maya, I know. You needn't tell me something such as that. I've known that since you agreed to marry me."_**

**_Maya glows with happiness as she nods. "Yes, now, let us end this thing so we can get back to begin alone. I still owe you." Maya winks, causing the man to blush and nod._**

**_The scene changes, carnage first hand. Blood is everywhere as Maya runs frantically through the crowd of mangled corpses. "Bryan! Bryan, where are you?!" Suddenly, Maya gasps as she falls to her knees, her chest locking up like she's having a heart attack. Clenching her hand to her chest, she pulls out her contract card, looking at it. "No…" She cries, tears forming in her eyes. The card begins to fade, causing her to become more and more unable to see with each passing moment. After a few moments, she passes out, collapsing because of the shock of… losing her partner._**

Mana gasps and sits up in her bed, nearly hitting her head as she does. She's covered in sweat, dripping from head to toe, night clothes stuck to her busty form. Just about that point, Setsuna walks in the door, casting a strange look at Mana. "Tatsumiya-san, what's wrong?" Setsuna walks over and kneels in front of Mana, looking at her with a look of concern. Mana smiles and pats her roommate on the shoulder "It's nothing… just an old recurring nightmare." Setsuna nods a little, though she gives the girl a look of disbelief. "I'm going to go do a few rounds of the forest. I'll be back later. Don't wait up on me." Setsuna nods a little as she puts her stuff down and goes to collect her bathing materials.

After getting dressed and heading out onto the grounds, Mana closes her eyes and shivers at the dream. "Col. Corbin… I thought I recognized that name. I wonder… no, it must be coincidence that the teacher looks so much like Corbin did when he was younger." Mana looks towards the academy, wondering what her new teacher just might be up to.

* * *

"Master… I believe you should calm down." Chachamaru tries frantically to get her young mistress to quell herself. "Shut up, dumb robot. How dare that old man change out the teacher again to some young nitwit in lieu of Bouya. He's simply causing us all more problems. No one wants to even remember that dumb brat, much less have to look at another teen teacher." She growls to herself "Then again, I don't see why I even care, it's not like I miss him." Chachamaru smiles to herself, a rare sight. Though, in this instance, no one saw it. "It would seem that this new teacher has Master in a huff." Evangeline turns around, snarling at Chachamaru "Shut it!" Her cheeks are stained with a blush "Though it's none of your concern, I know him somehow… I'm just not sure how." 

Chachamaru nods "I'll go about fixing dinner then. What would you like tonight?" Evangeline gives it a moment's thought before grumbling out "Steak… you know how I like it." Chachamaru nods and goes into the kitchen. "Ander Corbain… very unlikely that is your real name. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, boy, I promise you. And when I find out why you're hiding who you are, there's going to be hell to pay." Chachazero pops out of nowhere, waving her meat cleavers. "Can I kill him, master?! May I?!" The blood thirsty doll grins from ear to ear, causing Evangeline to smile just a little, shaking her head. Chachazero pouts, proceeding to try and skewer a stuffed animal. Eva gasps and snags the doll out of mid air "Stab that animal and I'll feed you to the termites, got that, zero?" The doll flops into a very disappointed looking state and nods, sheathing her cleavers. Suddenly…

KNOCK

A knock at the door resounds through the house "Master, I can't answer that, my apologies. My hands are dirty with steak juice, if it wouldn't hamper your activities too much…" Evangeline grumbles and nods, opening the door only to cock her head "Tatsumiya? What are you doing here at this hour of night." Looking at Evangeline with a rather deadpan look, she says "I'm hiring you to help me work off some stress. One day's training in your resort and I'll give you a proportionate set of blood." Evangeline looks over Mana quizzically before saying "Sure… but you pay one third up front. And not in your shape, you reek of sweat. Go wash off upstairs, you know the layout of this house by now. When you come back down, meet me in the resort." Mana nods and walks in, immediately walking up the stairs to go shower. "I wonder what's got her in such a mood… oh well, I suppose I'll find out." She walks into the kitchen "Chachamaru, cancel the dinner… I'll be having dinner in the resort with Tatsumiya. Go find out what she wants and prepare her a good meal. She's going to need it…"

* * *

Chisame growls lightly as Asakura waves a picture in front of her. "Come on, Chiu-chan All I'm asking for is a single, itty bitty favor." Adjusting her glasses and blushing slightly, "Fine. Just don't expect another. This is the last time I'm going to allow you to blackmail me into doing your dirty work." Asakura grins wide and nods "Alright then. First things first, I want you to check out all of your resources and look up the names 'Ander', 'Corbain' and anything regarding anything you can think up of our new teacher. Check graduation lists at all major colleges you can think of and search for language programs. If he's the real deal, he'll have some sort of headline somewhere on the net regarding him." Chisame smirks "Yeah. I was wondering the same thing. You really didn't need to blackmail me into that one, though. I was going to start searching on my own regarding that. 

"Oh hoh? You might make a good reporter yet, Hasegawa Chisame!" Chisame snorts "Good reporter my ass, I want nothing to do with your type." Asakura feigns hurt feelings "My type? You're too mean! After all, what have I ever done to you?" Chisame turns to look at her with a look of disbelief. "Must I cite the list?" Asakura sweatdrops and rubs at the back of her head "Aww, come on. Where's your sense of adventure?" Chisame's only retort? "Flew out the window with your sense of morality. Now, leave me alone if you want me to do anything for you."

* * *

Poking his head around the corner, Ander finally notices Nodoka, sitting on a bench with her back to a bookshelf, looking quite relaxed and reading a book. Smiling as he notices she's relaxed, he starts trying to think of a way to get her to open up, or at least relax around him and stop being so panicky. "Er… where /is/ that blasted book. I could have sworn that she said it was around here somewhere." His voice comes out purposefully lighter than what he normally would sound like. Much like he did when he originally got Nodoka to hand him the book. Nodoka raises her head and cocks it, listening. 'Someone needs help?' she thinks to herself 'I don't recognize the voice… I wonder who it is…' Standing, she walks to the edge of the shelf, poking her body around the corner to look and see who it is only to run smack into Ander. 

Ander hadn't expected her to come around /that/ corner. As such, he was kneeling down near the base of the shelf, going through books on the bottom and pretending to be trying to find something. But, now that he's been accosted by Nodoka shins, he finds himself knocked over, catching Nodoka gently as she falls atop him, as platonic ally as he can. "Miyazaki-san, what… what a surprise. Are you alright?" Ander looks at her curiously, making sure she doesn't seem to have hurt herself. Nodoka blinks before she realizes exactly who it is. Face starting to burn; she begins to writhe to get loose as Ander lets her go.

"Calm down, Nodoka-san… I'm not going to hurt you." Nodoka doesn't seem quite convinced, though. "I… I don't care, you tricked me! You… you're trying to get me to relax around you, I just know it!" Ander can't help but smile "Actually, you're right." Nodoka gasps and realizes she's backed against the railing. "I am trying to get you to relax, but not for the reasons you might have going through your head. You see… I feel bad that you're so scared of me, especially when I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. Yue and Haruna know that, or else they wouldn't have let me anywhere near you. Come now, as protective as Haruna is over you, do you really think she would let you anywhere near harms way?"

Nodoka gives him a very nervous scan before starting to edge away from the railing. "And I was looking for a book. I thought it might be around here. I was looking for Orson Scott Card's 'Ender's game'. Do you happen to know if I am too far off?" Nodoka shakes her head and points to practically right where he was at. "It… It's the paperback on the very bottom right. The blue one…" Ander nods and steps over, kneeling down and picking it up. "Wow… you really do know your stuff. It's amazing that anyone could know that much about a library." He smiles, holding up the book "Have you ever read any of his stuff?"

She nods, very faintly saying "I've read… read all of the Shadow saga, as well ... as well as the main saga." Opening it to a page, Ander starts reading "Ah, I remember this chapter. This is the one where he meets Bonzo's squad. What a brute… I swear, men like that shouldn't be allowed to have children." Suddenly, Nodoka giggles. Gasping, though, she turns her face, trying to hide her blush. Ander gives her a look of surprise "What… was that?" he asks, getting the response "It's… It's just funny. That is… that is the same thing Yue-Yue said when she started reading that book." He nods, finally, in realization "I see. And what did Haruna-san say?" Nodoka thinks and replies "She said that… Ender was a lot like Negi-sensei and I prob… probably had…'" she starts to shrink and blush.

"'A crush on him, just like you did Negi-sensei.'" Nodoka gasps and blushes darkly as Haruna steps around the corner. "That's what I said, am I wrong?" Nodoka shakes her head, still hiding her face. Haruna grins and walks over, patting her on the shoulder "Come on, let's go back downstairs. You've got Yue all in a tiff. She's mad at herself for made you having ran away." Nodoka blinks and frowns "Wh…why is she mad at herself? She... she didn't cause me to run away." Haruna pats Nodoka on the head like a little sister "I know that, but does she?" Nodoka blushes softly before starting to slink back down the direction she came from. "I… ah… what I m… mean is…" she walks back to Ander and bows frantically, "I'm sorry for causing you problems! It won't happen again! I promise I won't run away anymore!" Though… she sort of breaks her promise within two seconds, turning and hauling rear away from the scene. Haruna blinks and starts laughing, holding her stomach "Well, that promise didn't last long. Anyways, let's head back downstairs if you don't mind, and after Nodoka winds up apologizing herself to Yue til she's out of breath, we can start on the tour. That is, if you're not busy?" Ander shakes his head "Not in the least. I'd be honored to be given a tour of this facility by such brilliant and nice people." Haruna rubs at the back of her head and grins, just a tiny bit of a blush on her cheeks. "You've a way with words, that's for certain… best learn to bite your tongue, though, or someone might think you're flirting."

And with that, the two of them begin to walk back downstairs towards the library island counter.


	3. A new friend in unlikely places

**_"Bryan, duck!" Bryan flattens out along the bed of the truck as Maya turns and levels a gun over his head, firing a single shot and hitting a lycan in the center of its' head. "You need to be more careful..." Rising to kneel, he rubs at the back of his head as he turns and spies what just met its maker. "I can see that. But, that's what I have you for, my Ministra Magi." Grinning like a fool at Maya, Maya grumbles and turns around, just a bit of a blush of her cheeks as she goes to scold him again. However, before she can, the truck lurches, sending both of them sprawling on the bed. Before either can react, pair of lycan pounce from the sides of the truck. One pins Maya, restraining her, the other grabs Bryan and takes off. "Maya!" he screams out, trying to get loose from the lycan's grasp, to which he fails miserably. When Maya finally is able to flip over, she manages to flip her assailant off and proceeds to pull out a pistol and shoot it between the eyes._**

**_"Stop the truck, now! They've captured Bryan!" The old man driving the truck shakes his head. "No can do, young mistress. I've got orders from Konoemon and Col. Corbin not to stop this truck for anything." Crying out in disbelief, she levels a gun with his head through the back windshield. "They've. Got. Bryan. Stop the truck now or I'll kill you before you take another breath." However, he doesn't even give her any attention, continuing to drive. Just as she goes to pull the trigger, he hits a bump, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto her back. Before she can even regain composure, he flicks a switch and drops a bale of the soft cargo onto her. "Now, you've got two options. You can let the both of us get killed by these lycan bastards and ruin any hope you have of getting your precious Bryan back, or, you can apologize, stand up and defend this convoy like you are being paid to do."_**

**_Tears run down Maya's cheeks as she struggles to get back up. She, however, is completely pinned. Choking back a sob, she cries out, "You bastard! You're more concerned for the job than you are for a life!" The old man shakes his head. "One day, young mistress, one day you'll understand. It's a pity it has to come to this. Apologize now. I am taking charge of this situation." A lone lycan spots the truck and charges it, pouncing into the back and going after the pinned Maya. "I'm sorry!" She screams out at the last second, causing the old man to flick the cargo switch and raise the crane suddenly. As it rises, it flicks the lycan off of her just in time to allow her to grab her gun and end its life. "Now, young mistress, no more tears. Don't lose hope. Your contract card hasn't faded yet and you're still alive. That means Bryan is too. As soon as this convoy is delivered, I'm more than certain that the Col. and Konoemon will allow you to form a rescue party."_**

**_Still, though, that doesn't seem to bring her tears to a stop, looking desperately around her as they continue to drive, trying to catch any sight of Bryan. However, the only thing that remains of Bryan on the battlefield would be a torn portion of his shirt, hanging on his sword that got knocked off and impaled in the ground near where he got captured. Tears turn to rage, though, as Maya screams out as loud as she can. "Adeat!" Holding out her hand, the card in it glows and floats for but a moment before she's surrounded in a field of light. When it recedes, she's in something of a gothic, western swimsuit with large chaps on. And in her right hand is a large sniper rifle. Jumping to stand atop the roof of the truck, she kneels and places the butt of the rifle on her shoulder. In the center of her head, a light forms, a small beam shooting out before it recedes and leaves the outline of a golden eye. A golden third eye._**

**_The old man driving the truck shivers a little and closes his eyes._**

**_"God rest those poor lycan's bastard souls..."_**

* * *

Mana opens her eyes in the shower, a few tears escaping them as she does. She lets out a small gasp before reaching up and bringing her finger to wipe off a tear "I... I don't believe it. I must be imagining this..." And with that, Mana summarily ignores the tear, continuing to wash herself off despite having lapsed into that daydream. Evangeline watches her from outside the shower, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. 'What has you acting like this, Tatsumiya? In all the time I've known you, I've never seen you so worked up... It's almost unsettling to see one such as yourself, with such emotional control, acting like this. Is this the work of that new teacher?' Evangeline pushes herself off from the wall and her thoughts, turning to go to the resort to wait. 

After a few minutes, Mana steps out of the shower only to notice she had, at one point, a visitor. Judging by the size of the footprints on the misted tiles, she can easily tell who it is. "I wonder why I attracted her attention. It's not like her to care... " After another moment of staring at the footprints, she shrugs it off and proceeds to dry and get dressed in her spare clothing before heading downstairs again. "Mistress asked me to serve you dinner inside the resort. I've prepared it just as you asked, Tatsumiya-san." Chachamaru bows a little as Mana nods, offering the tiniest of smiles. Reaching out, Mana almost affectionately strokes the top of her head before turning around and descending to the bottle room.

"You're late... hurry up and eat so I can partake in my meal and we can begin this training regiment that you've requested." Eva sits in her chair, sipping at some wine, having already assumed her older form. It's something that Mana always requested of her. Mana nods and takes her seat, eating her Spanish omelet. Eva looks at her food and curls a lip in disgust "I still don't see how you can eat that crap. You might as well be dicing up a vegetable garden..." Mana smirks and says, "It's good. You shouldn't let the way it looks cause you to dislike it. Keep it up and you might insult Chachamaru's integrity. She worked her best to make this look perfect." Indeed, the omelet was quite perfect, even down to the display of the vegetables in it. Eva snorts almost childishly before literally turning her nose up. "Insult Chachamaru's integrity? You seem to forget that she's nothing but a robot."

Chachamaru overhears this as she's cleaning up around the corner and stops, her gears winding slower for just a brief moment before she shakes her head and continues to clean. As Mana finishes her meal, she takes a long draught of her drink and nods at Evangeline. "Alright... you can take your payment when you wish." Evangeline studies her for a moment before saying, "It isn't necessary. However, why d..." Mana cuts her off. "Either you take your payment, or I leave your payment on the ground. It is principle, I won't take no for an answer." Evangeline rolls her eyes as Mana stands and walks over towards her.

"Fine, fine... idiot. It's people like you that give mercenaries a payment-hungry image. I was going to do you a favor..." Mana shakes her head and cranes her neck to the side, pulling her hair back and exposing her neck. "I won't owe anyone. It isn't my style." Evangeline stands and looks at her neck, shivering just a bit at the sight. A willing source, as always, but something about her seems different than usual. Slipping an arm almost gingerly around Mana's back, Evangeline pulls herself close to the gunner and applies a small, nearly sensual kiss to her neck. Mana shivers and begins to push Evangeline off, but finds she can't. "What are you doing..." she inquires, obviously surprised. "Hush..." Evangeline whispers, licking slowly along her craned neck and breathing her scent deeply.

Mana shivers once more, finding herself slowly bent backwards and slowly less and less in control of the situation. "Evangeline, don't do this..." however, Evangeline doesn't seem to notice the pleas for her to stop. As Mana finally reaches a 90 degree angle to the ground, Eva's other arm reaches around her and scoops her legs out from under her, Mana's body floating parallel to the ground. Eyes not moving from looking at Evangeline, trying to catch sight of her eyes the entire time, Mana breaths out a single word before her eyes jar shut. "Eva..."

Eva's hand has since crept down to her thighs, and is now gently cupped around the underside of her knee. Mana tries to arch her back out of reflex, but finds herself completely paralyzed. The hand slowly starts to rise up the leg, a part of Evangeline that neither of them having expected rearing its head and taking dominance. Mana struggles in vain to get loose.

Moments pass, fire and electricity mix with pleas.

Moans arise from the area.

Begging, shivering and panting, then pain at an attempt.

Suddenly, a soft cry as fangs prick skin.

A trickle of blood, pain and pleasure intermingling thoroughly.

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Time seems to pass by in naught but the blink of eyes.

A vampires tender tongue stroking over the flesh, lapping at the life bloods' trickle.

But, before the peak of it all, fangs sink deep into the flesh of a neck.

Eyes go wide, gasps arise.

Movement finally occurs even against the spell, with the intensity of feelings.

Lightning shoots through both bodies as each take a deep breath.

Evangeline's eyes nearly roll back where they are as she drinks deeply from Mana, the arm around her lower back clenching her tighter and tighter to herself. Her other hand presses against Mana more and more heavily, both arms clinging around her hungrily. Chachamaru walks slowly up behind the two and looks at Mana. Mana's eyes plead for the robot to stop her mistress. Chachamaru goes to grab her mistress, but some built-in hamper stops her from doing so. "Mistress… please, refrain from drinking any more. You're going to hurt Tatsumiya-san…" The vampiress loosens her grip just a little as a spark of reality finally enters her eyes. Pulling her fangs out of Mana, Evangeline begins to panic when she realizes what happened. "Oh god… Hang on, Tatsumiya."

Evangeline leans in and begins to concentrate, a small light coming from her mouth as she places it over the wound. Applying the softest of licks, the bite marks close and Mana takes a deep breath. Coughing and quite pale, she pretty much just lays there. "Damnit, Tatsumiya… I forgot that you were a virgin. I… I haven't had any fresh blood, especially of that of a virgin, since Bouya left. I… I was addicted to his blood even then." Evangeline turns and whimpers a little, wrapping an arm around herself. "I haven't lost control of myself in nearly 15 years… when you offered yourself, I snapped." Mana's hand wraps around Evangeline's elbow and pulls her down next to her. "Then consider the payment for the stress relief in full…" And with that said, Mana's eyes shut as she passes out.

"Chachamaru… go prepare a bed for her here in the resort. Even if I don't care for her, this is my fault. I'm going to live up to my mistakes and faults…"

Later that day, Mana stirs and wakes up, holding onto her neck with one of the worst neck cramps she's ever had. "What happened?" she mutters before opening her eyes and noticing a child vampire sitting on her lap, looking at her. "I am what happened. You drugged me with that delicious blood of yours…" Mana blinks and almost laughs at the way it was put. "I guess that makes you the addict." Evangeline frowns as she sits there, looking the gunner over. "Be still…" Evangeline says and leans in to Mana's neck. No doubt in her mind, Mana grabs the girl by the shoulders and gives her a look of death. "I'm not going to bite you, twit. I'm going to finalize the healing of your bite. I did a rush job earlier to make myself feel less like… well, like a monster." Mana continues to stare at her intensely before slackening her grip.

As Evangeline leans in, she once more applies a tiny kiss to the wound, licking it, her saliva causing the marks to vanish, leaving it entirely clean of impairment. Mana shivers at the lick, a very tiny blush coming to her cheeks as she remembers the event replaying before her. "Evangeline… why… did you touch me like you did?" Evangeline blinks and cocks her head. "Old habits die hard." Evangeline admits with just a bit of a sheepish grin. "The blood of an enticed virgin is sweeter than any substance in existence and is pure heroin for a vampire. You're lucky that Chachamaru came along when she did. If it wasn't for her, you'd probably be dead, or if I came to my senses in time, sired." Mana shivers at the thought. "Still, for what it's worth… I'm sorry."

Looking flustered, Mana shrugs it off. "Just don't do it again. I'd have to kill you otherwise. Unless you planned to devote yourself to me for touching me like that?" A light flicks in Mana's eyes as she grins wickedly at Evangeline. And, that, of all things, causes the little vampiress to wave her arms frantically. "Devote myself to you?! Are you mad?! Why would I devote myself to someone such as yourself?!" Her cheeks are stained with a bright pink blush, causing Mana to laugh heavily, wincing as she starts to hold onto her stomach. "Because you're the only person to ever have the courage to get that close to me… at least, that close to me in quite a long time." Mana smiles and reaches out, snagging the back of Evangeline's head and pulling her close enough to apply a platonic kiss to her forehead. "Thanks."

Blinking in confusion, and just a little off-center from the kiss, Evangeline studies Mana. "I think I might have drained too much after all. You've lost your mind, Tatsumiya." Mana grins at that. "If I ever had one to begin with. I think I lost that years ago. Why else would I be a gun for hire?" Evangeline nods in agreement. "That's at least one thing I can agree with you on. You're crazy as hell." Suddenly, Mana lurches forward, wrapping her arms around Evangeline and bringing her face right to Eva's neck. "Tatsumiya, wha… what do you think you…!" Evangeline squeaks in surprise as she feels a mouth clamp down on a spot of skin on her neck. Flailing like a child trying to catch a balloon that slipped out of their hand, her face goes dark as she realizes… the girl who is biting her has no elongated canines.

"Tatsumiya I'm going to KILL YOU!" Mana snorts laughing as she pulls back and collapses back on the bed beneath the fuming child vampire. "Revenge. You're too much fun Evangeline. Seriously." Mana snorts laughing again and leans onto her side, holding her stomach and nearly crying. Evangeline fumes hops off the bed, storming out of the room. Chachamaru smiles from the side as she watches. "It seems… Master has a new friend." As Mana watches Evangeline storm out of the room, she smiles to herself before going to stand. 'She really isn't all that bad… when she doesn't have her bravado wide open. Maybe she just needs someone to get her to open up. But, what would I know. I'm the most unlikely candidate to help her with that.' Mana lays back and closes her eyes. "I'd better rest up."

* * *

**_As Maya arrived at the camp for the first time, she was panting heavily and drenched in sweat. "NOW!" she screams towards the driver of the convoy, who sighs and nods. "General Ayase, go let the Col. know that the shipment has arrived. Also let him know that Bryan Arcana has been captured and Maya is requesting a rescue team to help locate him." The old man nods and turns, standing on the lip of his cane and levitating over to the Colonel's tent. Suddenly Maya lets out a strangled gasp, both hands coming to grasp at a hand that has since grabbed the scruff of her jacket. "LET ME GO, NOW!" she writhes and fumes as a huge, muscle bound man looks at her. "I can't do that."_**

**_"Racan of the Thousand Swords!" shouts a passerby, "Thank god you made it, things were just starting to get hairy, no pun intended!" Racan nods and continues holding Maya by the scruff of her jacket. Watching Maya continue to writhe like a caged leopard, he sighs and drops the girl, knocking her in the back of her head with his elbow. "Get her to the infirmary and let her rest. She'll wake up with a large headache and the urge to kill me. When she does, steer clear and I'll take care of it. We need all able bodies we can get and charging forth with a single squad into the middle of that maelstrom will only cause us to lose good people." The old man who was driving the convoy nods and walks over, gingerly picking up the unconscious Maya and walking her towards the infirmary._**

**_"Eishun." Racan says softly without even looking. "The wrath of someone who could lose their partner… it's truly terrifying, isn't it, Racan?" Eishun Konoe steps up beside the man, a sleeping Asuna in his arms, and looks at the unconscious feral Maya, shaking his head. "Such a pity we had to do that to the poor girl. She's probably going to hate you forever; you realize that, right, Racan?" The larger man nods and walks towards the colonel's tent. "I'm going to go make sure you didn't terribly hurt the girl." Eishun says as he meanders his way to the med tent. Shaking his head, Racan looks to Eishun with feigned hurt. "You don't trust me after all this time to know my own strength? What a pity." Eishun can't help but grin as he turns and retorts, "You're nothing but a big lummox with a lot of muscles. All brawn no brain, so always says Al." Racan grins and scratches his chin towards Eishun with his middle finger, causing Eishun to laugh and turn to finally go check on Maya._**

**_A middle-aged man steps out of the tent just in time to meet Racan face to face. "It's a pleasure to finally meet a member of Ala Rubra." Racan nods and grins a little. "Same, Corbin. It's good to finally meet one of the leaders of our nation's army. Nagi sent me ahead with Eishun Konoe to take care of stuff here. He and the rest will be here within a night or two… they got held up, as I'm sure you know." Col. Corbin nods and turns to open the flap to the tent. "As you can see…"_**

**_However, on the other side of the continent…_**

**_"HAH! You're mine now, Nagi Springfield!" A large buxom woman yells out victoriously as she descends towards a kneeling and panting man in a brown cloak. All around them, the forest is decimated. Trees burn, hills have cracked and are crumbling and only three figures remain, Gateu, Takamichi and Nagi. At the moment, Takamichi is tending to a wounded Gateu while Nagi fends for himself. Just as the buxom woman gets within range of Nagi, his staff comes up and points right at her. "Manman terroterro, Kenetetos Astrapsato de Temeto! Dios Tukos! Et Millenum Spiritus Raika, sparsum quod prohibeo meus inimicus. Sagitta Magica, Series Fulgurales!"_**

**_The clouds begin to churn as thunder begins to rumble. "Hah! So much for the power of the thousand mast-aaaaah!" she cries in pain as an extremely large bolt of lightning comes crashing down from the heavens, plastering her to the ground. Groaning and looking up at Nagi from the ground, Nagi waves to her and turns as a thousand bolts of lightning begin striking the woman over… and over… and over. One, after another, after another. Nagi walks over to Gateu and Takamichi, extending a hand to the older fallen fellow. "Let us take our leave." FLASH, BOOM, 'Aaaah' "She'll be out of commission for several days…" FLASH, FLASH, BOOM 'Eeee' "That's enough time for us to make it to the lycan landing and help Racan and Eishun with the war."_**

**_BOOM, BOOM CRACK! The sound of rocks shattering slices through the air as the lone vampire is pounded into the ground more and more. Gateu takes the hand and hops onto the staff side-saddle behind Negi. Takamichi looks over at the vampiress as she lays on the ground, writhing in pain, screaming hatred for Nagi with each strike, and can't help but pity her. "Nagi-sensei… maybe, if she attacks again… you could think of some way to get her to come over to our side, to see the light side of things."_**

**_Nagi smiles and nods. "That actually gives me an idea. It might take some preparation, but I have the perfect plan for our rogue Evangeline here…" Looking over at her and flashing her a roguish smile of his own, he takes off with Takamich and Gateu in tow. Evangeline glowers at him and can't help but blush despite her pain, to hear that Nagi has thoughts for her. "Self-righteous son of a b-aaah" she squeals as another bolt hits her._**

* * *

Evangeline gasps and quickly sits upright in her bed, squirming and twitching at the memory. "THAT SELF-RIGHTEOUS SON OF A B…"

* * *

EDITOR'S NOTE - What can I say? I've been really inspired to write more of this story lately. This came to me today and I've since been writing it. I beta red this myself, so I believe I did a good job. I'll have my beta reader go over it later and I'll fix any problems. But, for now, read and review 


	4. Memories, all alone in the moonlight

**_"Ojii-chan… are you alright? What's wrong, Ojii-chan?" An old man looks at a little girl with long, pigtailed blue hair and a high forehead. "Yue-Yue… I was hoping that this day wouldn't come so soon, so soon before I got to teach you so many things. You've always been such a bright girl." His hand affectionately cups her cheek as he coughs heavily. Gasping, she begins to tear up "No, Oj… Ojii-sama, you can't do this to me. Don't you run away from me… don't give in! Ignore your sickness, please, Ojii-sama!" Taizo blinks and smiles "Such a large vocabulary for such a young girl. It's … it's a pity that you're choosing to use it now and not before." Yue begins to sob heavily, leaning against her grandfather as his hand starts to go limp. "Yue…-Yue… you'll grow up one day to be great. You might not ever learn of it… but you are destined to be one of the greatest scholars of all time." Her fists ball up against his coat as he whispers, "Magic is within you…" and dies in her hands._**

* * *

"So, Ayase-san, tell me, are you any relation to Ayase Taizo?" Yue blinks and turns, mouth partially open. "How do you know that name?" Ander smiles "I knew him when I was very little. He was a kindly older fellow. Grandfather, I assume? Or Great Uncle?" Yue smiles and shakes her head "Grandfather." Ander nods, idling glancing at Nodoka and Haruna, who are about twenty feet away and talking amongst themselves. "How is he doing? I haven't seen him for many years." Yue sniffles just a little and wipes her nose "He died… about Eleven years ago. An unknown disease." 

The teacher winces just a little "I'm sorry, Ayase-san, I didn't know. He was a kind man… always with a smile. I… actually, I think I remember seeing you once or twice when you were little. He used to call yo… wait, Miyazaki refers to you the same way he did, doesn't she?" Yue blinks and stares at him slack jawed again. "So you really did know him pretty well… to remember his pet name for me." She really is smiling at this point, reclining against the desk of the library counter and resting on her palms. "Yes, Nodoka started calling me that when I was real young. I punched her the first few times she called me that, but when I realized she was simply stuttering and not calling me that on purpose, I kind of felt bad for it and never got after her again." She snickers and looks over at Nodoka affectionately "That was so long ago… now she calls me that out of habit, despite the fact that she doesn't have so many problems speaking. Then again, I suppose I was really developed for my age. I met Haruna about that time as well. Such a long time ago…"

* * *

**_"You're strange looking!" Yue calls out to a young Nodoka, who sniffs a little and begins to back up. "Yeah?!" retorts Haruna, just as young, "Well, you've got a large forehead!" Yue stares at her "And you've got coke bottle glasses." Yue and Haruna stare daggers at one another while Nodoka looks on in horror. Suddenly, the two launch into a fist fight, pulling hair and scratching at each other. "P.. please stop it!" Nodoka squeaks out, causing the two to stop instantly. "She spoke..." they chant in unison._**

**_-----_**

**_"So, big head, what's your name?" Haruna asks, having ran into Yue again on the way from school. "It's Yue. Ayase Yue." Haruna snorts "Stupid name." Before Yue can react, Nodoka blinks at the name and timidly says "Y...Yue..Yue? Yue-Yue?" Yue growls and quickly walks over, pushing Nodoka hard onto her rump, causing her to tear up "Don't call me by that name!" Haruna growls and hits Yue hard again "Don't push Nodoka!"_**

**_-----_**

**_Another week, several more fights before Yue meets Nodoka alone in the hallway. "Miyazaki..." Nodoka blinks and nods to Yue very timidly "Ohayou... Y...Y..Yu..Yue.." she finally manages to say, causing a light to spark in Yue's eyes, and instantly make her whimper a little. Walking over to Nodoka, she watches the purple haired girl before her cringe, only to find her frozen in surprise as she gets hugged "I'm sorry I've been so mean to you. I never realized you had problems with my name... it's.. it's alright to address me how you wish."_**

* * *

As she continues to think about things, she reaches out and takes Ander's hand in her own, clenching it gently "Thanks for reminding me of that. I had nearly forgotten why it was that Nodoka called me by that silly nick-name. We've been friends since I realized that it wasn't her just naming me something. But now... she does just call me that out of habit." Before Ander can reply, she pulls away and walks over to Nodoka and Haruna, suddenly pulling Nodoka into a large hug. Nodoka flails like a child trying to grab a lost balloon once more before going pink as she realized who it was that's hugging her. Blinking, she turns around. "W…what are you hugging me for, Yue-Yue." Yue squeezes her tightly before looking up at her and giving just a tiny bit of a hop, giving her a kiss on the cheek "For being you." Haruna blinks and cocks an eyebrow "And I don't get a hug and a kiss?" Yue snickers and walks over, giving Haruna a hug. "What, no kiss?" Yue shakes her head "Not since you asked for it. You might have gotten one if you hadn't. Now, let's get the new teacher started on his tour of the library." Haruna gives a large, semi-mock grumble and walks over to speak to the other Yue and Ander, the first of which having already headed back to the teacher. Nodoka, however, stands there, holding her cheek where she was kissed, blushing deeply.

* * *

**_Yue sits in the middle of a sandbox, playing with a rod with a tiny moon shape on the end of it. Haruna sneaks up behind her with a handful of sand, ready to plaster her with it, only to accidentally step on a toy car, causing Yue to turn around and see her. Panicking, Yue holds out the wand and a breeze just happens to blow at the same time, knocking off Haruna's hat and causing her to drop the sand patty. Blinking and gasping aloud, "You can do magic?! Cool!" Of course, it was total coincidence that it happened like it did, but neither of them knew it. Haruna's bipolarity was flaring even at an early age, having hated Yue up until that point, now, in her mind, best friends with her. It took Yue a while... but she eventually decided to let it slide and see what happened._**

* * *

"Hey, book-worm, you coming?" Haruna calls out, looking over her shoulder. Nodoka quickly tries to hide her blush before she responds quickly "H..hai!" and trots over to where the two are "Where did you want to be shown to first, Ander-sensei?"

* * *

**_"Hey! It's the shy girl! Get her!" Nodoka squeals and runs away from a pack of boys that begin chasing her, all armed with sticks. "What are you running away for, stupid?! Know what's coming your way! Hah! Look at her crying! Wimp!" One of the boys throws his stick, causing her to trip and fall, skinning her knee. Sobbing and holding onto her knee, a five year old Nodoka starts crying heavily, holding onto her knee and trying to back her way into a corner. "Alright… let's teach this ugly thing not to look at us when we walk by!" And at that, the pack of boys jumps on her and starts to beat her up. Just about that time, two girls walking by notice what's going on. The elder of the two, who happens to be about 10 years old, screams out "Hey! You leave her alone!" The younger of the two, a slightly lanky girl with large glasses and long green hair rushes in, though, before they have a chance to respond and jumps on the back of the main one._**

**_Gasping, her sister runs to help and winds up busting up the fight, causing her parents to come out of the house and realize what's going on. The girl's father walks over and grabs the boys one by one, throwing them backwards into the grass hard. "Get lost!" He yells at them, causing them to turn around, running away in panic. The older of the sister's bends down, trying to get the girl de-wedged from the corner. "Hey… Hey! You alright?" Nodoka continues to sob, holding onto her knee and lashing out at anyone that comes close. She has a large black eye at this point, as well as the large scrape on her knee. When that fails and the parents go to call the paramedics, the younger girl walks over and kneels next to her, dropping the handful of hair she had ripped out of the one boy's head, and reaches out, ignoring being pushed, pulling Nodoka into a hug. "It's alright, they're gone… they won't hurt you again, I promise you."_**

**_Nodoka blinks, still sobbing and clings around the young Haruna, who grits her teeth together and throws a hateful look at the pack of boys who are watching from over the wall. Letting Nodoka go for just a moment to turn, she finds herself clung to yet again by two arms wrapped around her waist. The boys duck, and she reaches down, picking up a rock. She throws it as hard as she can and manages to hit a boy square in the center of his head just as he goes to look over the ledge again. Grinning to herself as she hears him running off, crying, she turns back around and lets Nodoka hug her more conventionally again as the sounds of police sirens wail in the distance._**

* * *

"Hey, Asakura," Chisame looks at her computer screen once more before shutting it and pulling out her printout, "here's the results from all of my searching." Yawning, Kazumi walks over and takes a hold of the paper. She blinks a few times before she manages to ask, "Why is this blank?" Chisame's lips threaten to curl into either a smirk or a frown at moment's notice. "That's the point I was bringing up. I can't find anything on him, not a thing. I've searched records from close to a hundred databanks. There's no trace of him at all." Kazumi blinks again before rubbing her hands together "Alright, this calls for me to bring out the big guns. Thanks, Chisame-chan." Chisame watches her leave before muttering, "Idiot." and going back to her computer. "I haven't updated my page in a while… oh, hell, I don't see what the point is. Maybe I should just tell them all that Chiu passed away." Chisame wanders over to her bed and lays back on it, closing her eyes for a minute before she opens them again. "I wonder what my favourite fan is up to at this very moment."

* * *

**_"Chiu-chan! You're really here!" a young girl jumps off the couch and charges full force towards Chisame Hasegawa, hugging her happily. Chisame, just a bit more than slightly surprised, and looking like Net Idol Chiu, laughs nervously before kneeling and hugging her back "Hey there!" she puts on in a chipper voice "I told you I would be here today, didn't I?" The little girl nods and wipes a few tears from her eyes "I'm so excited I finally got to meet you!" Negi stands at the door in his older form, smiling, arms crossed, Chamo sitting on his shoulder. Chamo whispers in his ear "Kind of brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? Negi nods and pats Chamo on the head "Now hush, let's let Chiu... no, let's let Chisame have her time here. Negi rubs his eyes a little before reclining against the door again._**

**_-----_**

**_"I had so much fun today, Chiu-chan!" the young girl walks over and gives Chisame another large hug before starting to cough heavily. Chisame, not knowing what else to do, picks the kid up and holds her close "Calm down... just relax, please. Don't let this cancer get the best of you. You can survive... after all, that's why I came here today, to get you to keep on going. Remember?" The kid continues to cough. Chisame sniffs softly before saying "Remember?" in a bit of a louder voice. The young girl finally stops coughing, just hugging Chisame tightly, causing her parents to gasp. 'She stopped coughing...' the mother whispered to the father, who nodded. 'No one's ever gotten her to stop her coughing fit mid stream... she really must be angel, just like Yuki seemed to think.' The mother paws at her eyes before hugging her husband tightly._**

**_-----_**

**_"Negi... please, tell me you're lying. Please!" Chisame grabs Negi by the shoulders, shaking him roughly. Negi just looks down to the side "I can't change fate, Chisame. No one can... I can't remove the child's cancer. It's just not possible." Chisame falls to her knees, sobbing heavily "You cant... you can't just let the child die, Negi! Then... Then transfer the child's cancer to me! Do it now, I demand it! I'll never forgive you if you don't!" Negi looks at her, mouth open "Chisame-san... I ... I can't. I'd be putting a death sentence on you!" Chisame shakes her head. "I DON'T CARE! DO IT NOW OR I'LL FIND A WAY TO DO IT MYSELF!" She stands and shouts in his face, sobbing onto his shoulder as she hits his chest with the sides of her fist mercilessly._**

**_-----_**

**_"Chiu-chan..." whispers the young girl, "What are you doing here?" Chisame smiles as she walks over and sits down next to the hospital bed with the child. "I just came to check up on you. How are you doing?" she asks, placing her hand over the childs. "The doctors say I have about a week..." Chisame shakes her head and smiles "I see... well, I brought you a drink. Would you like some?" The child perks up and forces herself upright. "Of course! Anything from Chiu-chan!" The child takes the drink and takes a deep drink of it. "This tastes like roses!" Chisame smiles and says "You'll get better, I promise..."_**

**_-----_**

**_"Chisame-san! Wh... what did you do?!" Chisame lays on her bed, trying to catch her breath "I told you, Negi-sensei... Either you find a way to cure the child, or I would." Ayaka stands to the side, talking into her phone. "Prepare for an emergency visit. I'll need a team of surgeons on the spot. I don't care how much it costs, deduct it from my inheritance. I won't let my friend die... not today."_**

**_-----_**

**_"What do you mean Yuki's cancer is gone?!" The doctor smiles and shows an x-ray of her chest "Her lung cancer is gone... it's completely gone." Suddenly a nurse walks in, "Doctor... the Hasegawa girl that Yukihiro called about is in... she's in critical condition." The mother blinks "Hasegawa? Chisame Hasegawa?" The doctor turns and nods. Blinking, "What's wrong with... with Chisame-san..." The doctor shakes his head "I'm not supposed to say this, legally... but she has cancer. Lung cancer. It just developed with the last few days. Strangely, inversely along the timeline that Yuki's vanished." Yuki's mother gasps and starts to sob "She ... she really is an angel. She took it upon herself." The doctor pats her on the shoulder "She'll be in the best of care. A rich benefactor is fully funding the emergency operation to have it removed from her. However, the chances she'll survive are slim. If you wish to see her before she goes in, you'd better hurry." Telling her the directions, she scoops Yuki out of her bed along with her drip tanks and runs down to the edge of the O.R. Yuki watches as they wheel her by, gasping "Chisame!" She shouts, struggling to get out of her mother's arms to see her. Chisame, however, is already under anesthesia._**

**_-----_**

**_Negi walks up to Yuki and her mother. "Mihara Yuki?" he asks, to which the little girl nods. "I have a message for you from Chiu-chan. She gave it to me before she was put under for anesthesia." He hands the letter to the girl, who reads it and gasps, starting to cry. "She... she... she'll be alright, won't she?! WON'T SHE?!" Negi nods "I'll make sure they do everything in their power to keep her here. Trust me..." As he starts to walk away, Yuki runs towards him and jerks the UV's out of her arm in the process. Clinging around Negi's leg, he kneels and turns. "Hey... can you keep a secret?" The child nods "I'm a wizard." the child gasps "But I need your help with a spell to keep Chiu healthy. Think you can help me?" The little girl nods. "What you have to do is keep a smile on your face. No more tears. Tears make this spell not work. Keep your chin up, just like Chiu wanted." The little girl sniffles, but nods "Alright! I promise I won't cry anymore!"_**

**_-----_**

**_After about three hours from being out of surgery, the nurse walks out of the room, looking at the young girl who's been waiting outside of Chisame's rooms since the beginning. "She's coming around, little one. If you wish to see her... I can walk you in there, but you have to promise to behave." Yuki nods, staring and at the verge of tears. She begins to sniffle, but stops herself, resolute and saying aloud "If I cry... the spell won't work. I can't cry..." As she walks in, Chisame turns and looks at her, blinking "Hey there..." Yuki grins from ear to ear and bolts out of the nurses grasp, jumping up to the edge of the bed and wrapping tightly around Chisame's waist. Chisame winces in pain, but doesn't attempt to separate the child from her "Hey... you've been through surgery before. You know how much this stuff hurts... loosen up just a bit?"_**

**_-----_**

**_Yuki smiles sheepishly and rubs at the back of her head "I'm sorry... but, you kept your promise! And that boy kept his!" Chisame blinks "Boy?" Yuki nods "Yes, the British boy... he told me... well, it's supposed to be a secret. But, since you seem to know him, I guess it's alright!" The nurse stands to the side, ready to snatch the girl off if she should try a tackle cling again. "He said that... well, that he's a wizard." Chisame gasps and looks horribly confused "And he asked me to help him with a spell... he told me that my part was not to cry, because if I did, it wouldn't work." Chisame closes her eyes and shakes her head a little 'Just like him...' she thinks to herself as she reaches weakly up and pats Yuki atop her head "I guess that means I owe you my life, Yuki. I suppose that now means you're... "_**

**_Before Chisame can finish her word, though, her eyes close and she falls back against the piillow, flatlining._**

**_"Chiu? Chiu! Please, don't do this to me now!"_**

**_The nurse panics and starts calling for the doctor, running over._**

**_"Remember! Remember what you said to me! 'Don't let this cancer get the best of you. You can survive... after all, that's why I came here today, to get you to keep on going.' Remember? Please... please don't do this to me Chiu, not now!"_**

**_Yuki begins to sob and smacks Chiu hard on the chest out of frustration at herself for not being able to do anything._**

**_"REMEMBER WHAT YOU TOLD ME! YOU PRMOISED YOU WOULD TAKE ME ICE SKATING!"_**

**_The monitor beeps... there's a pulse, despite it being tiny._**

**_-----_**

**_When Chisame finally opens her eyes again, she sees a familiar girl sitting on the edge of her bed, asleep and resting against her side. Reaching her hand out, she strokes along her cheek_**

**_"My favourite fan..."_**

* * *

"No... Chiu-chan can't die. Because then the most of myself would die with her... no, that's not the reason why..." 

Chisame sighs and curls up against her pillow. "It's because Yuki-chan would be devastated. I guess that means I have to keep myself up." She stands and walks over to the window, looking out. "It's the weekend... I wonder if Kaede is going into the mountains again." Chisame turns to hurry out the door to try and catch the Ninja, "Please not have left yet."

As Chisame nears Kaede's room, she hears her speaking inside the room. "Thank goodness she hasn't left..." Chisame huffs, not being in the best of shapes. She goes to knock on the door, but it opens and reveals Kaede, just about to leave. "Ah, Chisame-dono... what brings you to my doorstep de-gozaru?"Chisame smirks just a little and straightens herself out. In a mocking voice, she quips a line from Kaede 'You're getting tubby de-gozaru...' She grins and speaks normally, "I would like to request you help me again in my exercises." Kaede smiles and nods "Well... go get ready, then. Unless you plan to wear that... fuku de-gozaru." She grins, causing Chisame to let off a flustered blush and stomp back to her room to prepare.

Back in her room, she begins to strip and change, only to stop and look in the mirror. Her right hand runs slowly up the large scar in the center of her chest. "It's starting to fade..." she mutters to herself, staring at it closely in the mirror. Chisame's so focused on it, she doesn't notice Kaede walk up behind her and reach around to her front. Only when she feels a single finger trail down the scar does she tense up and look to see who it is "Oh... don't sneak up on me like that. I could have a heart attack." Kaede smiles "But you didn't, de-gozaru. The scar looks good on you, makes you look tougher de-gozaru... even if you are tubby." Chisame growls and semi-playfully bats away a laughing Kaede. "You'll never get better if you keep slacking on your rehabilitation exercises, Hasegawa-dono. You need to do the more often than when you get the urge to have me make you, de-gozaru."

"Aww... quit. The only reason I'm going with you is because I'm bored and don't wish to haunt Evangeline's resort. Besides, when you're not acting like a rambunctious two year old, you're not all that bad of company." Kaede smiles "Why... I love you too." Chisame snorts before giving Kaede the finger. Kaede rolls herself backwards laughing. "Anyways, bone head..." Chisame's blushing lightly at this point "I'm ready when you are. Shall we?" Kaede nods and walks over to the door, politely holding it for Chisame before shutting the door behind them.

* * *

AUTHOR NOTE - I'm really taking some liberties here, but I think it's turning out quite sweet. I actually made myself cry with the Chisame bit. I'm going to eventually, once I get a lot more of the histories fleshed out, collect them all into a separate storyline and write them down as a prologue to this story. Read and review. And... if anyone knows how to change font inside this editor, the document edit/preview one, let me know. By all means, I'll make the memories slightly easier to read. 


	5. Tong Hua

"Well, girls... thanks for showing me around the library. I'll be certain to come back whenever I get a chance." Ander offers a nod and a bit of a polite bow before turning to leave. "Hey, Sensei?" Haruna calls out. Ander stops and turns around, only to find Haruna less than an inch from his face. "Um... Yes, Haruna-san?" Leering at him and pressing her face close enough to where he has to lean back a little, she says "There's something strange about you, yet I can't seem to put my finger on it. Something familiar about your presence, though I'm not sure what." Laughing a little, Ander nods "Well, Haruna-san, I'm certain that when you think of how to describe your feeling, you'll contact me again. Til that point, I have to go out and buy some food for myself and my pet. So, if you'll ex..." Nodoka walks up "Um... Pet?" She asks in an almost optimistic tone. Ander nods. "Yes. I have a cat. Well..." he thinks to himself 'She'd kill me if she heard me call her that'. "I think the correct term for that in Japanese would be ..." Stopping to think, he says quizzically "Ocelot? I think that's what she would be considered."

Nodoka gasps and brings her hands together "Wh...where is she? May I see her, Ander-sensei?!" The hopeful kid look causes him to laugh and nod "Sure. All three of you can come if you like, though Yue's already seen her once." Nodoka blinks and gives Yue a curious look. "His pet was in the headmaster's office for whatever reason." Ander nods "The headmaster seems to have taking a liking to her, so I brought her along today to keep him company." Haruna laughs and nods "To the headmaster's office, then?" Nodoka quickly trots out the door, making her way to the headmaster's office ahead of them. Yue and Haruna blink at each other "What's up with her?" Haruna asks before Yue replies "She's... been helping Chachamaru-san feed the kittens lately and has taken a liking to felines in general." Haruna ah's and nods "Well, that makes sense. I was wondering why I kept finding cat hair on her bed spreads..." Yue snickers a little and go to follow her, Ander simply following along without saying much. Nothing much to say, after all.

"What's her name, sensei?" They begin to round the corner to the bath house as Ayaka and her room mates, plus Asakura, suddenly step out of the door, both wrapped in towels. Ander realizes it only a second too late, running full body into Chizuru and tripping, accidentally falling atop her. Shaking his head and opening his eyes, he only realizes a second too late, once more, that he has Chizuru pinned... her towel having fell open. "Oh god... Chizuru-san, I'm sorry, f.or..." Suddenly, Ander is tackled from the side and pinned to the wall. A young boy with spiky black hair and dog ears snarls into his face "I'll rip your balls off if you EVER touch her again, you sorry bas..." Yue walks up behind him and smacks Kotarou as hard as she can atop the head with the book she has in her head "SIT BOY!" Kotarou whines as he totters back, giving Yue a hurt look "What the /hell/ was that for, Yue?!" Huffing, and quite red, Yue says "It wasn't his fault! She opened the door and walked out just as he was walking by!"

Ander steps away from the wall, grimacing and rubbing his throat. Without looking down, he takes off his over coat and hands it to Chizuru "It's... probably too small to fit around you well, but you can use that to cover yourself." He looks over at Kotarou "Like she said, it was an accident..." Growling and not seeming quite convinced, Kotarou watches as Chizuru stands and re-wraps herself with the towel, using the jacket to hold in front of her "She's right, Kota-kun. Thanks for the help, though.." Chizuru steps over and grabs Kotarou, pulling him into a large hug, causing him to gasp and try to push away from her, being smothered as normal, Ayaka, Kazumi and Natsumi watching from the side and unable to stop laughing. "Well... let me close my eyes so you girls can get back to wherever you were going..." And he does so, even turning his head. "Well," Ayaka starts off, "At least the new teacher has some manners. I think Negi-sensei would have just blushed and started flailing his arms, trying to excuse himself." Nodoka giggles a little, hearing that. "Probably, Iincho-san."

"I'll go ahead and head to the headmaster's office, Nodoka-san, Yue-san, Haruna-san. Meet me there when you like... " They nod and he walks off "Oh... and, Kotarou-kun, why don't /you/ go with him. I think you owe him an apology." Ayaka whispers to Kotarou, who huffs and turns his head "I don't owe no apology to that ecchi bastard." Chizuru glares at him and pretends to roll up a sleeve, causing Kotarou to whimper and turn, chasing after Ander. Ander doesn't say a thing, and neither does Kotarou, even after they're both out of sight." "Naba-san, you do realize you still have his jacket, right?" Haruna peers at Chizuru, who blushes just a tiny bit, not having realized she was clinging to it for whatever reason. "Oh, well, so it seems. I'll give it back to him. If you'll all wait just a moment, I'll get dressed and come with you to the headmaster's office?" Haruna and Yue nod, though Nodoka seems down she doesn't get to go now.

"Kotarou-san, is it? Look, I'm not mad at you. In any situation, I would have probably done close to the same thing." Kotarou snorts and turns his head. "Don't get all chummy with me, pervert. I've got my eyes on you." Ander smiles and nods, keeping the conversation to nothing. He knocks on the door and gets the call to come in, doing so, with Kotarou following behind him. "Ah, Kotarou-kun, Ander-sensei, welcome welcome. I was just getting ready to head to bed. It's early, but I'm tired for some reason. Maybe it's all that shogi-playing and thinking I've been doing." He laughs softly, Len casting a glance over at Ander, eyes sparkling contently. "Hai, headmaster, must have been. I was just coming by to pick up Len and let Miyazaki Nodoka and her friends meet her."

"And Kotarou-kun? What are you doing out this time of day?" The Konoemon asks curiously, causing Kotarou to blush in annoyance and turn his head. "I was simply out for a walk when I found this asshole talking to Chizuru-neechan. I don't trust him, old man." Both Ander and Konoemon smirk to that one. "I see. Well, that's something you'll have to work on, Kotarou-kun. He's quite the nice fellow. I've known him for many years." Kotarou snorts and turns, walking out the door. Konoemon sighs and shakes his head "I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy. This /is/ an all girls' dorm, but Chizuru-san and Natsumi-san are both so fond of him. He used to be quite more behaved, but since his only male friend, Negi-sensei, vanished, he's become a lot more unruly. Almost thuggish, I would say, if it weren't for the fact that he's only that way when he's being protective of Chizuru-san and Natsumi-san."

"Well... I could try to get him to relax a little more, maybe have some fun or something." Konoemon nods just as someone else knocks on the door. "Come in." he says just loud enough for it to be heard, the door opening and revealing the library club as well as the rest of the shower bunch. "Ah, welcome girls. What can I do for you?" Ander walks up to the desk and picks Len up affectionately, whispering to her, "Pretend to be a normal cat." She scowls at him "Cat? I'm nothing of the sort..." He nods knowingly. "I know, but pretend." Walking over to Nodoka, he sets Len on the floor. Nodoka gasps and kneels down, looking at her. "She's so beautiful. It's an.. an albino Ocelot. Do you know ... how rare they are?" Ander nods "I rescued her a while back from a bunch of exotic animal traders that were wanting to use her for her fur." Len walks up to Nodoka and nuzzles her hand, Nodoka smiling and gingerly picking her up, cradling her affectionately.

The girls watch, Chizuru walking up and offering Ander his jacket. "Oh, thank you, Naba-san. I had totally forgotten I lent it to you." Chizuru nods, both mentally noting that Kotarou is glaring at him from the door way. "Kota-kun, if you're going to stare, you might as well come back in." Chizuru calls out, causing him to huff and stomp away from the door. She giggles and says, "I'm sorry he attacked you." Offering a little bow, Ander quickly waves his hands. "No, no, it's quite alright. He was right in doing so from what he saw. He was just protecting you, he didn't realize any better." Chizuru nods and turns "It's something to see Nodoka-san smiling like that. She's usually never this happy. I can only recount a few times since our last teacher left that she's smiled this much. Maybe it's simply the cat, though. Who knows." Both shrug and Ander turns. "I'll be heading out now, headmaster, if there's nothing else?" Konoemon shakes his head and stands to walk them all out.

As the door shuts, Nodoka turns around, still holding Len happily. "Ander-sensei... er, well, nevermind." He blinks and looks at her. "Yes, what is it?" Looking up at him, she says softly, "I have some catfood in my room if you'd rather have that instead of going to the store to buy some. Unless, well, unless that is you have to go anyways." Ander shakes his head, "While I do have to go, I'm sure Len wouldn't mind a bite to eat." Len mentally quips, 'I am rather peckish.' to Ander, who says in reply, "If you like... and Yue-san and Haruna-san don't mind, you can keep her while I go shopping." Nodoka nearly jumps as she hears that, her face going brighter and smiling wide. "Y..You mean it?!" Ander nods as Nodoka turns and hands the ocelot to Haruna, who takes her, despite not knowing what to do with her. "Nodoka, what are..." Haruna begins, but stops, watching her as she walks over and suddenly pulls Ander into a quick hug before running back, snagging Len from Haruna's arms and hauling ass to her room.

All of them blink, Ander blushing just a tiny bit. "Well... that was a surprise." Ander says simply, Yue nodding, Haruna quite slack-jawed. "If I knew that's all it took to get her to open up this much, I would have gotten her a kitten some time ago." Chizuru smiles still, watching from the side as Asakura looks at her camera. "Dangit.. I missed that. It would have made a great shot. But I still got the shot from when Ander tackled you to the ground" she says to Chizuru, who simply reaches over and hits the delete button on Asakura's camera before she can respond. "Hey!" Kazumi begins to fume as Chizuru waves at her dismissively. "Not anymore."Kazumi walks away, growling to herself like an annoyed hen as Chizuru taps Ayaka on the shoulder and motions her to go on back to the room. "We'll leave you to do your shopping, Ander-sensei."

Ander nods at them and waves, walking off to do his shopping. Nodoka, however, has already made her way back to her room. As she goes about rapidly fixing something for Len, said 'cat' kind of just curls up on the chair she was sat in, waiting. Chamo strolls up and gives her a horrible look before saying aloud, "What are you doing here, crazy-ass house cat." Len growls and stands up, getting ready to pounce on Chamo as Nodoka walks up and sets a plate of food down between them, quite cheerfully announcing to Len, "Eat up! I just made it, please enjoy it!" Even though she doesn't realize the cat /can/ understand what she's saying, she still treats her as if she could, reaching out and gently rubbing across the top of her head with a few fingers before sitting back. Chamo looks at Nodoka before cocking his head. "What, you're not going to get me anything too?"

Len snorts and looks at Chamo with a look of terror. 'What are you doing you idiot! How can you speak in front of a normal girl!' Chamo looks at Len with a bit of a curled snear. "What, you couldn't tell, house cat? This girl is Negi Springfield's partner." Nodoka looks at Chamo in complete confusion as she is getting up to get him something too. "Chamo-san, why are you talking to Len like that? I'm sure she can't understand you..." Len continues to stare at Chamo for a moment before looking at Nodoka. "Actually, I can." Nodoka nearly drops the little cup she had in her hand, quite surprised by the response. "I apologize for startling you, but it IS Magical law not to reveal yourself unless sure of a situation. This idiot rat here is a loudmouth, none the less."

"Rat?! I'll show you r..!" Chamo lets out a scared gurgle as Len suddenly pounces him and picks him up by the scruff of his neck using her mouth. Shaking him roughly, she tosses him off the chair. "Shut up, idiot." Nodoka scoops up Chamo, petting him and feeling just a bit bad for him. "I apologize again, I'm not usually this rough. He just annoys me horribly." Chamo sticks his tongue out at Len and quickly retreats to the inside of Nodoka's shirt. "Chamo-san..." Nodoka starts off, "Stay to the sleeve. Go any deeper and I'll give you back to Len-san." The shape that was trying to get further into Nodoka's blouse suddenly stops and stays in the sleeve. "Ano... I can assume that Ander-sensei is a mage?" Len nods once. "Am I the only one who knows about this?" Len thinks about it for a moment before shaking her head. "I do believe the blue haired one knows as well. And the young blond girl who sits in the back of your class." She takes a moment to rack Ander's brain again before nodding. "Yeah, that seems about right."

Nodoka sits down in a seat, lost in her thoughts as Yue and Haruna walk through the door. "'ey, Nodoka, what got into you earlier? Why'd you hug the teacher?" Nodoka looks up, giving Haruna a strange look before placing her finger to her chin in thought. Her cheeks pinken a little as she says simply, "I'm not sure. While I... while I can't say I trust him, and he is a guy, he doesn't seem like he would try anything. Almost like how Negi-sensei isn't interested in us and is still so caring, I think... that Ander-sense wouldn't be interested either. I'm not sure why, though." Yue stares rather deadpan at her before shrugging and walking over to Len. Kneeling, she looks her in the eye and thinks at her, 'Can you hear me?' Len nods once towards her, causing Yue to smile. 'Good. So I can talk to you without letting the others know about Ander-sensei?' Len nods again, Haruna peering at her.

"Yuecchi, is the cat nodding at you?" Yue growls and stands, "Don't call me that name, idiot." Haruna grins, "Sure thing, Yuecchi, but was the cat nodding at you?" Yue shakes her head, quickly coming up with an excuse, "It was following a bug that was flying around near me." She stops, acts like she sees something and smacks in the air. "Got it. Why would the cat be nodding at me?" Haruna shrugs and walks over, rubbing a hand over Len's head. "Because she reminds me of Chamo for some reason. She almost seems to have a personality beyond a normal animal would. I've picked up on things like that before since the training we got from Negi-sensei. Are you sure the cat wasn't nodding at you?"

"Actually, I was." Len says, causing Haruna to grin. "I thought so." Yue smacks her head in annoyance before cutting her eyes at Len. "And what of secrecy?" Len looks towards Nodoka, Chamo's head popping out of her sleeve. "It's alright, Jou-chan, I'm the one who made it known. There's no harm In it, and it might keep you two safe from that creep Ander." Len snarls and lunges at Chamo, Nodoka catching her with both arms and hugging her still, Chamo dangerously close to Len's mouth, but just too far to be reached. "DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MY MASTER LIKE THAT!" She snarls out again, Chamo sticking his tongue out. "Even if the facility trusts him, I don't, and neither does red." Yue looks to him, "And why not?"

"Because he attacked me! He tried to kill me!" Chamo retorts, all eyes focusing on Len. "He told her to eat me!" Len snorts. "I don't eat rat, I'm not that uncouth. Why don't you tell them the truth, rat." Chamo laughs nervously and tries to shrink into Nodoka's sleeve. Haruna reaches out and snags him, plopping him on the table. "Yes, Chamo-san, why don't you tell us the truth." Chamo rubs at the back of his head and says simply, "Red paid me a pair of panties to spy on him for her. She didn't trust him, said he creeps her out." Yue and Haruna look at chamo at the same time, in the same way, Nodoka quite confused. Len kind of just ignores it. "Panties?" The three girls say at the same time, Chamo quickly vanishing without even replying.

"He broke into my master's housing and was spying on him. Master had me lure him out and cage him while he showered. When he got out of the shower, and the rat started insulting me, Ander threatened to hurt him if he didn't stop insulting me. After that, the rat ran off. And I think that the girl he was talking about, this... 'red' was it? She was spying on Ander too from the window." Yue crosses her arms and shakes her head. "Too much drama right off the start for me. I'm getting some food and going to bathe." Haruna nods, "Yeah. While this would make a good Manga, I don't think I really care for more of this crap at the moment. Len, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I like your attitude." Yue snickers and nods, "Yes. I don't mind either."

---

Ander finally walks into the store, looking around and finding a basket and advertisement paper before going to shop. As he's walking along shopping, a phone rings near him, the ringtone starting to pulse with a melody he's familiar with. Smiling, he closes his eyes and begins to hum the entrance to the song. Before long, though, he's singing softly to himself, albeit aloud.

Wang le you duo jiu  
zai mei ting dao ni  
dui wo shuo ni zui ai de gu shi  
wo xiang le hen jiu  
wo kai shi huang le  
shi bu shi wo you zuo cuo le shen me

A few of the girls walking near him start giggling as they realize exactly what he's singing, most talking amongst themselves about how funny it is to see a westerner singing that song.

Ni ku zhao dui wo shuo  
tong hua li du shi pian ren de  
wo bu ke neng shi ni de wang zi  
ye xu ni bu hui dong  
cong ni shuo ai wo yi hou  
wo de tian kong xing xing dou liang le

One girl, though, in particular, starts listening to him before smiling and meandering behind him along the same route. A Chinese girl, peeking at him from behind corners and acting entirely suspicious.

Wo yuan bian cheng tong hua li  
ni ai de na ge tian shi  
zhang kai shuang shou  
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni  
ni yao xiang xin  
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li  
xin fu he kuai le shi jie ju

Ni ku zhao dui wo shuo  
tong hua li du shi pian ren de  
wo bu ke neng shi ni de wang zi  
ye xu ni bu hui dong  
cong ni shuo ai wo yi hou  
wo de tian kong xing xing dou liang le

The girl starts to sing along with him in her own way, however not loud enough to be heard by him, smiling to herself and considering saying something to him. She doesn't, however.

Wo yuan bian cheng tong hua li  
ni ai de na ge tian shi  
zhang kai shuang shou  
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni  
ni yao xiang xin  
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li  
xin fu he kuai le shi jie ju

As Ander nears the cat food, he stops for a second to think about the next lyrics before starting again, having since noticed that a lot of the girls that are around him are staring at him and enjoying the attention.

Wo yao bian cheng tong hua li  
ni ai de na ge tian shi  
zhang kai shuang shou  
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni  
ni yao xiang xin  
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li  
xin fu he kuai le shi jie ju

Suddenly, the Chinese girl raises her voice and starts to sing the next Stanza of the song, singing in a perfect dialect.

Wo hui bian cheng tong hua li  
ni ai de na ge tian shi  
zhang kai shuang shou  
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni  
ni yao xiang xin  
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li  
xin fu he kuai le shi jie ju

Ander blinks and looks around, finally noticing the girl who started singing where he left off. "Ku Fei-san?" he inquires, listening as she finishes the song.

Yi qi xie wo men de jie ju.

Yi qi xie wo men de jie ju.

"Hai! Ander-sensei, I not know you be listen to Wong Guang Liang!" She is nearly glowing with happiness as she trots up to him, arms laden with groceries. Ander nods, rubbing at the back of his head. "And I wasn't aware that anyone I might have known was listening to me. How embarrassing." The gaggle of giggling girls disperses quickly enough, one or two lingering on and looking jealously at Ku Fei. She blinks at them and cocks her head confusedly before they finally wander off, knowing not to mess with her.

"How coincidental to meet one of my new students here. I was just shopping for myself and my pet. I hadn't realized anyone else would even be here at this time of night." Ku nods, almost boasting herself. "I be getting groceries for Chao Bao Zi!" The questioning look she gets from him causes her to snicker. "Chao...? Bao Zi? How is it different from normal Bao Zi?" "It restaurant. I help room mate Yatsuba-san operate it in place of old friend who went back to her home." He nods, finally understanding. "Then... I'll have to come by there sometime and sample the food. I'm sure it's quite good judging by the variety of ingredients you have there. All the spices. Do you need any help carrying any of it back?" Ander asks, Ku shaking her head. "No, I be fine. I might not look it, but I be very strong." She holds all the bags with her right pinky and flexes it, the bags lifting up easily enough.

"Well, you certainly made that point. Remind me to never make you mad." Ku snickers. "Alright, I remind you if need be. I be going then?" Ander nods and starts to make his way to the exit. "Sure, if you'll wait a moment though and let me check out, I'll walk you back to the dorms, or the restaurant, whichever is where you are going. Girls shouldn't be wandering around at this time of night alone." Ku looks at him with a strange look before shrugging. "If you say so, I won't say no. Company good at times, often get bored no one talk with."

All in all, Ander checks out with no more incidences, heading out with Ku and towards the Chao Bao Zi cart. When they finally get there, Yotsuba pokes her head around the corner. "Ah, Ku-san, I was wondering what was taking you so long. Is everything alright?" Ku nods, Yotsuba giving a polite bow and smile towards Ander. Ander reciprocates the action, setting his things down on a table near them. "I wasn't aware you knew of this place, Ander-sensei." Yotsuba inquires simply, Ander nodding. "You would have been correct if it wasn't for Ku Fei-san here telling me about it. I offered to walk her back from the store. After all, can't tell who's lurking out here at this time of night." Yotsuba and Ku snicker at the same time, causing Ander to look at them in confusion. "I think you don't know Ku-san well enough, not that you have had the chance. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to mess with her. She's the top ranked martial artist and fighter in the Mahora complex. Probably in this half of the hemisphere."

Chachamaru comes walking around from the side of the area, wearing a maid's apron. "Yotsuba-san, I've finished what you asked. Master has asked that I be home early today, may I go ahead and go?" Chachamaru bows towards Ander, who nods back at her. "Sure. Thank you for your help again, Chachamaru-san." The robot nods towards Satsuki before taking her apron off. "Ander-sensei, if you'll excuse me, I have to be going. I apologize for the rudeness of my haste, but I have somewhere to be." Ander nods. "It's no problem at all. I should actually be getting back too. It's nice to see some of the students holding jobs. I'll have to come by here another time when it's brighter and sample the food." All three of the girls nod before going about their business, Ander taking his sacks and heading back to the dorms.


End file.
